


The Unknown Ultimate Called Nepgear

by SilentHeroX



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Hyperdimension Neptunia
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 28,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27972104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentHeroX/pseuds/SilentHeroX
Summary: This guilt…This pain…I don't want to remember it anymore…I just want run away…forever…
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1: Where am I?

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I had while walking around a mall: what if Nepgear from the Neptunia series somehow just fell into the first Danganronpa game? And to make it more interesting, let's make her the Conquest Ending version and make her lose all her memories from that time! And what's the Conquest Ending you might ask? Well, it's the ending full with super happy sunshine, rainbow and more! Make sure you play the first Neptunia game before the second one so that you can understand the super happy sunshine ending. This is inspired by "Super High School Level Detective Nepgear?" which might be abandoned but who knows? Either way, let's get on with the story!

_Where…?_

I slowly opened my eyes to see myself in some sort of hallway. It glowed pink with two brown double doors standing at least a few feet away from each other.

_What is this place? Where am I? How did I get here?_

It was the few of the multitude of questions that flooded into my mind. I clutched my head in pain…

_I don't know where I am. Why am I here? Why does my head hurt? I'm lost and I don't know what to do…_

_Please…_

_Someone…_

_Help me…_

"Hey…um…you okay?"

_Huh?_

I looked up and saw a boy looking down at me. He has spiky, desaturated brown hair and washed out hazel eyes. He wears a zipped-up dull green hoodie with red stripes along the zipper, an open black jacket with golden buttons over the hoodie, black jeans, and red sneakers with white toes.

I slowly shook my head no to answer his question.

"Can I…um…help you up?"

I nodded to that.

The boy then reach out his hand and said:

My name is Makoto Naegi, What is yours?

_My name…_

I took his hand and then returned it with:

"My name…is Nepgear,…it is…nice to meet you…"

…

…


	2. The Ultimates?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again! I don't know why but I'm just going to say this: All characters are owned by their respective companies or whatever. I'll try not to change too much of the dialogue but who knows. Either way, let's get on with the story!

As I slowly started get up, along with Makoto helping me up, he asked me:

"So…um…Nepgear, what are you doing here?"

 _What_ _ **am**_ _I doing here?_

"Well I…um…I really don't know…" I told him.

He seemed to be surprised by this. "You don't know? But I thought you're an Ultimate."

_An…Ultimate?_

"I'm sorry,…but what do you mean by 'Ultimate'?"

He was shocked by that too. "You don't know about the Ultimates?"

I shook my head for a no.

"So…um…how can I explain this…the Ultimates are students who are at the very best at what they can do." He explained really briefly.

He then listed some of the Ultimate like the Ultimate Pop Sensation, the Ultimate Baseball Star, the Ultimate Martial Artist, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, and many more. ( **AN: I can't really listed a lot since I don't remember all of them so yeah)**

The more I listened to him, the more interested I was. Mostly because the way he talks about them makes it sounds like he really looks up to them. But mainly because I'm fascinated by how great they are at doing what they do.

"Wait…I'm going to be late!"

"Huh? What do you mean by late" I asked Makoto.

"I need to get to the main hall by 8am!"

"Huh?! What the goodness, I'm sorry!" I said.

"No no no, it's fine. We just have to get there as quickly as possible."

"Oh…um…okay!"

We both then quickly made our way to the main hall. And by the time we got there…

Everyone else was there…

One of the students spoke up. "Woah, hey! Two new kids?"

"Huh? Then you guys are all…?"

"Yeah…We're all new here. Today's supposed to be our first day of class." A softer and more feminine voice answered Makoto's question.

"So counting both of them, that makes sixteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone…" Another voice said but with a more nasally voice.

_So these are the Ultimate? They all seem really interesting. But that door…_

I take a closer look at that huge metal door that was behind them.

_Why do I have this strange urge that I want to take it apart? It looks so cool! I wonder how many electronics are in there. It must have these really intricate parts inside them and…_

**Nepgear has mastered the "Electronic Otaku" Affinity!**

_What the goodness?! What was that?_

_**Tutorial: Well Nepgear, what you have there is called the Affinity System. When worrying about your lack of personality or having too much personality, you can master various affinities. Although they are somewhat useless in some situations.** _

_Someone actually replied to me?! And what do you mean by 'somewhat'?_

_**Tutorial: You'll have to see for yourself…** _

_Oh…um…okay…_

"Hey…um…Nepgear, are you okay?"

_Huh?_

I saw Makoto looking at me with a strange expression on his face.

"Oh…um…I'm okay!"

"Okay…so…um…" He looks at the rest of the group. "My name is Makoto Naegi."

"And…my name is Nepgear."

"Sorry we're both late. A bunch of stuff happened and then all of sudden I was asleep and I found her and…"

"Woah, you too?" The crazy haired guy asked in surprise.

"Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser…" The goth looking girl mused.

"So strange…I declare beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a strange situation indeed!" A nervous overweight boy with glasses declared.

"Um…what are you guys talking about?" Makoto asked. "I honestly have no idea what is going on right now."

Before anyone can answer, a black haired boy with red eyes said. "Just a moment!" He pointed at both me and Makoto. "Makoto, Nepgear! Your tardiness is unacceptable! Surely you're both aware the meeting was to start at 8 a.m. sharp!"

"To be late on your first day is unspeakable! I must report both of you and you must accept your punishment! He declared.

"I-I'm sorry,…it's just that I just don't…"

"What's your problem?" A blonde girl asked. "It's not like they "wanted" to be late. They didn't have any control over it."

"Everyone just calm down!" The brunette girl said. "Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves!?"

"The hell!? Now's no time for friggin' introductions" The big guy with a jacket and long brown hair.

"Maybe, but it may be best at least to find out who we all are before digging into the bigger problems here." The goth looking girl replied in a polite tone. "I mean, how are we supposed to talk to each other if we don't know each other's name?"

"That's a good point…" the petite light brown haired girl said in agreement.

"Okay, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sounds good? The blue-haired girl said.

_I'm so lost right now, but I think we should focus on getting to know each other. And I'm interested in what these Ultimates are all about…_

_…_

_Now who should I start with first?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is all for now! I'm going to reintroduce the characters since Nepgear has no clue on what an Ultimate is. And yes, I made the "Affinity System" joke since it is based on the other story I read before. There's going to be some new ones and some old one but either way I hope you enjoy it! Stay Safe and Review!


	3. Chapter 3: Introductions Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be only introducing the first 3 characters from left to right (since I don't have time to write five). Also there may or may not be a prequel to this story, so yeah look out for that. Well, let's get started!

_I guess we should with the one on the far left…_

The boy had short, spiky black hair, large and long matching eyebrows, and intense red eyes. He wears some sort white Japanese male school uniform with five golden buttons on each sleeve and five on his chest, a red and bronze medal above his right breast pocket, a red, black, and white armband, and knee-high black lace-up boots.

The way he introduced himself was…um…well…uh…

"I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru. I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!" Kiyotaka introduced himself.

"Um…Makoto, you said they were all Ultimates." I whispered to him. "So…um…who is he?"

"Well…um…he's the **Ultimate Moral Compass**." He whispered back. "He went to a famous private school and won top honors every year. He's also known for the work he's done for the community's Public Morals Committee. He also respects rules above all else, which is why he earned that title."

_What the goodness?! He won top honors every year?! That sounds really impossible by normal standards…_

"What are you whispering about?" He asked but he continued on. "Anyway, you can call me Taka. You said your name is Makoto Naegi," He then pointed to me. "And your name is Nepgear, right?" We both nodded, then Taka put on a huge smile. "Those are good names, strong names! You both should thank your parents for giving you such excellent names."

_My…parents…?_

Taka then seems to get fired up. "And to keep that name from losing value, you must devote yourself every single day!"

"Eh?…wha—"

Taka continued on "Life is worth putting every ounce of effort into it! Right? Right!"

"Oh…um…right!"

_This guy seems…enthusiastic…_

After talking to Taka, we went to the next person.

The girl has long dark purple hair in which she keeps it in two braids behind her, grey eyes and large wire-rimmed round glasses. She wore a purple Japanese school uniform with a noticeably lengthy skirt. She also wears white socks and brown loafers.

In contrast to Taka, this girl was well…um…

"N-Not that you'll remember my n-name anyway, b-but I'm T-Toko…Toko Fukawa." She introduced herself in a more nervous fashion.

"U-Um…Makoto?" I looked back at him.

"Y-yeah…?" He then realized what I wanted to ask and whispered back. "She's the **Ultimate Writing Prodigy**. When she was age 10, she wrote a novel that got everyone talking and launched her literary career. And two years ago she released "So Lingers the Ocean," a love story said to be her masterpiece. And she won countless literary prizes and all her books are instant bestsellers."

_Really?! Her books are instant bestsellers and won countless literary prizes! That's really impressive!_

…

We must have been talking for a while since Toko suddenly spoke up. "Wh-What? I-It's not polite to talk a-amongst yourselves, you know?" She stated. Then, she suddenly started to get all defensive. "Are you talking about how I'm such a filthy creature?"

We were both startled by this. "N-No, we just talked about…"

"I-I know what you both "just" talked about…! Toko interrupted, refusing to listen. "You both just talked about you've n-never seen such an ugly woman. You both just thought it was so funny…!"

"N-No, we were just…" I started to protest.

But Toko still refused to listen. "Don't bother trying to l-lie to me!" She exclaimed. "I know it's true. Otherwise, you… I know you both can't stand looking at me!" And then she went all depressed. "Wh-Whatever, I don't really care. I'm used to it…"

"I-I'm…sorry…"

_What did I do wrong? Was it because I asked Makoto who she is? Oh goodness, I don't know what I did wrong. Was it because…_

**Nepgear has mastered the "Worry Oneself" Affinity!**

_What the goodness?! Another one?! And no, I do not worry about myself!_

**Nepgear has mastered the "Lying to Herself" Affinity!**

_What—? Again?! I'm not lying to myself! I wouldn't do that!_

**Nepgear's "Lying to Herself" Affinity has leveled up!**

_What was that?!_

…

_You know what? I'm not even going to ask…_

So instead of worrying about it, I went to talk to the next person.

The girl has long, dark blue hair, which she holds in place with several clips and dark blue eyes. She wears a white long-sleeved Japanese school uniform with a blue sailor collar and a pink ribbon bow tie with tails, a blue skirt, black thigh-high socks and brown Mary Janes.

"Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!" Sayaka said very cheerfully.

_I wonder what her talent is…I guess I'll just ask her…_

"You want to know my talent is, right?" She suddenly said.

"H-Huh?" I was startled by this. "How did you know that?"

"Well…" She suddenly puts on a serious face. "I'm psychic."

"W-What?" Which was the only thing I could say.

"Kidding!" She then smiled. "I just have really good intuition."

"O-Oh, so t-that was it…"

"Yeah and as for my talent…" She thought for a little while. "I'm the **Ultimate Pop Sensation**."

"Pop…Sensation?" I said in wonder. "Is it like singing?"

_Wait…why did I say singing?_

She nodded and then she looked at Makoto and asked. "Huh? Hey, by any chance…?"

"What is it?"

Sayaka had a sudden look of realization on her face. "…Yeah, it must be. I'm sure of it. Hey Makoto, did…"

_Huh? Is she going to ask Makoto something?"_

But then, Taka suddenly interrupted. "Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our valuable time with this ridiculous back-and-forth?!" He exclaimed loudly

"S-Sorry." Sayaka said. "Just got carried away, I guess…"

Taka again interrupted. "Self-introductions are for introducing yourself, not bumbling through a bunch of idle chit-chat!"

"Y-You're right." She then apologized "Sorry Makoto. We can talk about this later."

She then moved to introduce herself to the others.

 _She sounds like she really wants to say something…_ I thought. _But it's not really worth getting yelled at by Taka._

**Nepgear has mastered the "Not Worth It" Affinity!**

_What the goodness? Why?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is all for now! The first thing I want to address is the Affinity System: the first two I put are just ones that I made on the fly and the last one came from the story I'm basing this on since I like that story. Another thing is that I don't really have time to introduce five characters at a time so I just shorten it to three. Either way, Please Review and Stay Safe!


	4. Chapter 4: Introductions Part 2

After that randomness, I went to talk to the next person.

The boy has red spiked hair, a goatee, and pale blue eyes. He wears a white blazer jacket with a popped collar, a white shirt with a red grunge skull design, dark blue jeans and white platform shoes with a black sole. The accessories are a padlock chain necklace, two overlapping studded belts, rings, and an oversized safety pin on his lapel. He has several piercings - his labret and six in his right ear.

"Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata! What's up!" He greeted

"So…um…I need to ask…" I took a deep breath before answering. "What is your talent?"

"That?" He said with a bit of annoyance. "I'm the **Ultimate Baseball Star**."

"You? Seriously?!" Makoto blurted out.

This startled Leon for a bit. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing, I'm just…surprised…" He'd explained. "I figured with you being the Ultimate Baseball Star and all…"

"What, were you expecting some kid with a shaved head?" Leon questioned with a bit more of annoyance.

"Shaved head…?" Makoto shook his head. "No, I was just expecting more of a, you know, sporty-looking traditional baseball player type. I mean, when I found that article and picture of you online, that's how you look like then."

This really surprised Leon. "What!? Aw man, you found that picture of me playing baseball? Seriously!? I hate that picture!" He then crossed his arms and huffed. "This is not cool. This is SO not cool…Seriously, I'm like, mega embarrassed right now."

_Huh? Picture? What did he mean by…?_

He then interrupted my thought and went on explaining himself. "I didn't have any choice, okay? Shaving your head like that is part of national championship regulation!" He then pointed a finger to his hair. "But now I refuse to cut my hair. And I'm not gonna dye it back to normal, either!"

"Actually, can I be honest with you?" We both nodded. He then said. "I don't like baseball. Like, at all. I've never gone to a single practice."

_Never practice! Seriously?! Is some kind of prodigy or something?_

"And as soon as I got accepted here, I quit baseball for good! I have my own dream for the future!" Leon declared.

"A dream…for the future?"

Leon grinned. "My own path in life is getting into music! You can feel that star-quality aura I have, right? He asked. "I'm going to be a singer, so all I need is a songwriter and someone on guitar, and we're set! This new version of me that's chasing after my dreams is, like…super cool to the max!"

_That sounds like…a really nice dream…_

…

_Though I'm interested in that picture…_

The boy I talked to next has an overweight body, has short black that ends with curled points against his cheeks and forehead and a small pointed ahoge. He wears a pair of black, thick-rimmed glasses. He is dressed in a white button-down shirt, an orange tie which has a patterned vertical double-headed blue arrow design, a pair of dark gray trousers, and grey trainers. Over his shirt is a light grey, unbuttoned cardigan and on his back is an orange backpack.

"I…am Hifumi Yamada. But if you want to call me by my nickname, 'The Alpha and the Omega!' I don't mind." He said.

_Isn't nickname supposed to be short?_

"By the way, how much do you know about the world of 2D?" He asked.

"Um, the world of 2D?" I said.

Hifumi then smiles creepily and gets pumped about something. "Well, in that world, I am well known and supremely well regarded as the **Ultimate Fanfic Creator**. I once sold 10,000 copies of one of my fan comics at a school festival. The event has passed into legend…" He boasted. "Some of them didn't get it, of course, saying I'd 'tainted' the event. How stupid can you be!?"

_I'm too scared to ask how he tainted the event. But 10,000 copies! That's kinda impressive._

Hifumi then continued. "The words of such idiots mean nothing to me. I am like Van Gogh—utterly unappreciated in my time. I am a soldier serving night and day to destroy all mindless preconceptions about fan fiction. I'm sure if you were to observe my work, Mr. Naegi and Ms. Nepgear, you would both comprehend its greatness immediately. For my work is filled with deepest meaning…"

"What…what kind of meaning?" Makoto asked.

"It's about embracing our basest urges…" Hifumi declared.

_Basest…urges? What does that mean?_

After leaving Hifumi, we moved to the next person.

The girl has brown skin, blue eyes, and wears her brown hair in a very high curled ponytail accessorized with a paperclip-style barrette. She wears a white tank top over a red tracksuit jacket with white piping, blue dolphin hotpants, knee-length white socks, a red knee brace over her right knee, a band aid on her left knee, and green sneakers.

"Heya! I'm Aoi Asahina! But my friends just call me Hina. 'Sup?" She introduced herself.

"Um…and your talent is…?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm the **Ultimate Swimming Pro**." She answered.

Hina then adopted a thinking face. "So uh…what was your name again? Sorry, totally forgot!"

"Makoto Naegi." Makoto answered.

"And I'm Nepgear." I also answered.

She then smiled. "Oh yeah, I knew it was something like that!"

"No, not 'something' like that. It *is* that…" Makoto said.

"Sure, sure, got it!" She said cheerfully. "Here, I'll hammer it into my brain right now!" She then wrote on her palm with her finger. "Makoto…Naegi…Nepgear… Makoto…Naegi…Nepgear…"

_What is she doing?_

Like he was reading my mind, Makoto asked. "What are you doing?"

"You don't know? If you wanna remember someone's name, you gotta write it three times!" She answered.

"I've never heard of that before in my life…" Makoto deadpanned.

"Hey, by the way…how do you spell your last name?" Hina asked him.

"You spell it exactly like how it sounds." Makoto answered.

"And how do you spell your name?" She asked me.

Well…um…I guess you can't spell it, can you?" I said.

"Ummm…" She then started to get lost in thought as tries to figure out our names. She then smiled sheepishly and rubbed her back of her head. "Well, I have no idea. Hahaha! I'll just figure it out later and write it down. Anyway, glad to meet ya!"

"S-Sure, same here…" Makoto said.

"Yeah…same here." I also said.

_She has a lot of energy and is really easygoing._

After that, we went to talk to the next person.

The girl has a small, lithe stature and doll-like appearance with short, light brown layered hair and hazel-colored eyes. She wears a long-sleeved dark green jacket, a white shirt with a large Peter Pan collar secured with a thin dark ribbon, suspenders, a box-pleated, mid-thigh length brown skirt, knee-high black socks, and white, ribboned mary janes.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki…" She greeted us shyly. "Sorry, I get kinda embarrassed whenever I introduce myself like this…" She then gave us a smile. "Anyway, I hope we can get along…"

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you." I greeted backed.

"Same here, Nice to meet you." He also greeted her.

"…Huh?" Chihiro suddenly sounded surprised. "Maybe it's just my imagination, but have we met before." She asked Makoto.

"Um, I don't think so." Makoto answered. "We just met for the first time. Which is why I said 'nice to meet you.'"

Chihiro looked down. "Oh yeah. Good point. Sorry…"

Y-You don't have to apologize for that." Makoto said.

"Oh, yeah…"

"Sorry, but…what's your talent?" I asked.

"Oh…um…the **Ultimate Programmer**." She answered.

_The Ultimate Programmer, huh?_

She then turned to Makoto. "Hey, so listen…" She suddenly looked like she was going to burst into tears. "I-I'm really sorry."

"Huh? What are you apologizing for now?" Makoto asked.

"Well, just cuz…you seem really upset. She answered. "You must be mad at me, right?"

"No, not at all!" Makoto reassured her. "I was just lost in thought about something."

"Huh? Lost in thought…?" Chihiro asked.

"Yeah…um…I'm pretty sure it's not him being upset, right?" I told her

"Yeah, it had nothing to do with me being upset or anything."

Chihiro sighed with relief. "Oh, that's good. I was afraid maybe you didn't like me." She then smiled. "Hehe…I'm glad!"

_She seems really nice…_

After that, we went to the person next to Chihiro.

The girl has long lavender hair which she wears it in a single braid on her left side, tied with a black ribbon. She has purple eyes and a pale complexion. She wears a dark purple collared blazer jacket with six brown buttons over a zipped up long-sleeved white blouse and brown tie with a bird-like symbol on it, a black short skirt, heeled knee-high purple boots with equally knee-high light purple socks, and custom-made black studded gloves on her hands.

We both waited for the girl to say something, but there was only silence.

_Um…are we supposed to say something?_

Finally, Makoto spoke. "Um…Can I ask you your name?" He asked.

"My name is…Kyoko Kirigiri." And then she went silent.

_She doesn't like to talk much…_

"Um, so…what are you doing at this school?" Makoto asked.

She then stared at Makoto. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"I think he meant about your talent." I told her.

She then went silent again. And then said. "Why should I tell you?"

"Huh?" Makoto seems startled by this. "Well…I guess you don't have to tell me."

"No, I don't have to tell you. So I'm not going to." She said rather coldly.

"Oh…um…we're sorry for bothering you…" I apologize to her.

She then again went quiet.

_She a little cold too…Well, if she doesn't want to tell us, then there is no point in asking…_

…

…

Well, who's next?


	5. Chapter 5: Introductions Part 3

The next person was this girl that has light blue eyes, bleached strawberry-blonde hair tied in two twin pigtails with a set of a cute rabbit and a large red and white bow, she has long fake red nails, and has freckles. She wears a black cardigan over a white dress shirt, a red pleated miniskirt, a tie with a dot-patterned, and mid-sized black boots with platform heels and red laces.

"Hiii! I'm Junko Enoshima, the **Ultimate Fashionista**. Charmed, I'm sure!" She greeted us.

"The Ultimate Fashionista?" Makoto looked surprised. "It doesn't quite match up to reality."

"Huh…?" She also looked really surprised. But then her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, are you talking about my cover photos and junko." She smiled widely. "Ahaha, well of course! Those are totally photoshopped."

"Photoshopped…?"

Junko then started to explain. "Yeah, you know—edited to hell and back. With like, computers and junk."

"Oh, so they aren't real…" Makoto said in surprise.

Junko then frowned. "Come on, don't act so surprised! You're gonna make me all depressed." She said. "It's totally normal these days to photoshop the crap out of cover photos."

"H-Huh? Really?!" I said.

"Yeah! If you're surprised by that, you'd be totally blown away by a certain dangerous little diva of ours…" She continued to explain. "They make the eyes and junk super big, and tweak the skin so it looks all ceramic and porcelain."

The only thing Makoto said was "Oh…"

_Why do I get the feeling that someone's dreams are getting crushed…_

After shaking off that thought, we moved on to the next person.

The boy is slightly tanned and has orange-brown pompadour, and has a deep-ridged black eye-line circling his purple eyes. He wears a high-collared black long overcoat adorned with the symbol of The Crazy Diamonds along with kanji and dragon symbol motifs colored orange on the back and side, worn open over a white A-shirt. He wears baggy black pants held up by a belt and his shoes are white loafers.

"Name's Mondo Owada. Nice to * meetcha." He introduced himself to us.

_Mondo Owada? For the looks of him, he might be the **Ultimate Biker Gang Leader**. I want to ask him but I'm kinda scared to ask._

"Ummm," Makoto said. "Nice to meet you, too."

Y-Yeah, it's nice to meet you." I said

"Hell yeah!" Mondo responded.

_I'm way too scared to ask…_

The next person didn't really calm my nerves.

The girl (I think that's a girl) has a large build, a stern expression, long white hair, reddened-dark skin; very pale blue eyes, and a scar on her face and right shoulder. She wears a white shirt with a blue sailor collar, a short blue skirt, a red tie, and bandages that wrapped around her calves and forearms. The sleeves on the uniform are torn off to make room for her muscular upper arms.

"I am Sakura Ogami." She simply stated.

"So um what's your talent?" I asked her.

"I'm the **Ultimate Martial Artist**."

"And…um…sorry in advance," I said, gathering the courage to ask the other question. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

She stared at me for a few minutes. "I'm a girl." She said.

_Oh goodness! I'm dead! I'm so dead!_

Instead of getting pummeled, she then said. "It's fine," She calmly said. "You're not only person who said that."

"O-Oh…um…o-ok," I said.

"Oh…and…you…" She both looked at me and Makoto.

"Huh? Y-Yes?!" Makoto said.

Instead of saying anything, she poke and prodded at our bodies.

"Um what are y-you…?"

"Muscular quality and quantity is right around that of an extremely ordinary high school student…" She said in disappointment. "Hmph. What a shame. You both are not at all fit to act as my training partner."

_Um…what? That was a weird interaction…_

We then move to the next person.

The boy has pale skin, blue eyes, and has chin-length dirty-blonde hair. He wears a black suit jacket over a white shirt, green crossover tie and a silver pocket watch in his suit breast pocket. He also wears black dress pants accessorized with a black belt, and black dress shoes with a slight heel.

"Name's Byakuya Togami." He simply said before went quiet.

"Hi, uh…nice to meet you." Makoto said. He still didn't say anything else.

_Um who is he? Maybe I should ask…_

"We're done with introductions, right?" He asked. How much longer are you going to stand there? Go away. I'm sick looking at you."

"O-Oh…um…ok…"

_He's like a trained king or something…_

Moving away, we went to a man with brown skin with stubble on his chin and dark brown eyes. His dark brown hair is styled in dreadlocks that stick out as large points. He wears three layers of shirts, the top one being a green Japanese male uniform jacket he wears on his shoulders, the second one being an open button down white shirt, and his third layer is a small yellow short-sleeve shirt, a brown whatever he's wearing and uses a yellow rope as his belt to hold up his large black pants that are rolled up past his ankles. He also wears sandals. On his left wrist is a beaded bracelet.

"I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure—Hiro for short! Take it easy, yeah? I know I will!" He greeted us.

Again I asked him about his talent and he replied casually with:

"Oh yeah, I'm the **Ultimate Clairvoyant**."

_The Ultimate Clairvoyant, huh…_

He then started right at us and said. "Ahh… Okay, I give up."

We both looked at him in confusion. "Huh? What happened?" We asked simultaneously.

"I saw it. I looked right at it…" Hiro quietly said. "Seriously, I totally saw it!"

"…Saw what?" Makoto asked.

"A guardian angel is right here with us." He explained and he then pointed in my direction. "And that guardian angel…is you!"

"H-Huh?! W-Wha…?"

"Nah, I'm just kiddin'." He laughed it off. "But hey, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get real deep into Lemuria and its civilization."

"What?" Makoto said in surprise. "We're not allowed to drink! We're in high school!"

"Oh, I'm actually 21." He replied. "I've been held back a few times, see, and…well, it's a long story."

 _A guardian angel, huh?_ I thought for a moment. _He's probably just joking…_

After shaking that thought away, we moved on to the last person.

The girl has pale skin, red eyes, and gold spherical earrings with a red gem placed in the center in each, a white lace-bonnet with white ribbons, and has black hair in two large twin-drill pigtails. She also has long, black nails. She wears a white blouse with a long-point collar, a white ribbon tied around her neck, a black jacket that includes white ribbon lacing down the sleeves, fastened by a simple white ribbon across her chest to reveal her red tie (consisting of a butterfly pattern layered on top of various spears with skulls attached to it) and the waist of her skirt, which is many-tiered and features white lace. She also wears knee-high stockings trimmed in ladder lace, dark red mary janes, a white lace headband, and a silver ring layered in overlapping sections on her index finger.

"I don't think we have been introduced. I am Celestia Ludenburg. She greeted us politely.

"Can I ask you about your talent?" I asked

She smiled. "It's the **Ultimate Gambler**."

_The Ultimate…Gambler?_

"Celestia…Luden…huh?" Makoto seems like he can't pronounce the last part.

"Ludenberg." She repeated. "It is my name. But if you don't mind, I would prefer for both of you to call me Celeste."

"Um, you are Japanese, right?" Makoto asked in confusion.

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"If you don't mind…could you tell me your real name?" Makoto asked.

_Wait…Celeste isn't her real name?!_

She giggled. "I don't know what you are talking about. Celestia Ludenburg is my real name. But as I mentioned, I would much rather you called me Celeste."

_For a polite person, she is kinda forceful. I don't think she would say anything about that._

…

I think that is all for introductions, let's find out what is going on.


	6. Chapter 6: Welcome to Despair.

_After meeting all of them, I think most of them are really nice people…well most of them anyways…_

"Okay, time to get down to business." Byakuya said. "This is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons."

"Oh, that's true." Makoto then asked a question to everyone. "I think someone said something about a bigger problem or something? What was that about?"

"Well, you see…" Sayaka started to explain. "Makoto, you said a bunch of stuff happened and then you were 'just asleep,' right? Well…the same is true for all of us."

"What? Seriously!?" Makoto said in surprise.

"Just after each of us got to the main hall, we lost consciousness. And when we came to, we were somewhere here in the school! That's what happened to both of you, right?" Leon continued.

"Yeah, it's the same for me too. But, I don't remember coming into the main hall." I confirmed for everyone.

Almost everyone was shocked by what I said until Byakuya said.

"Another mystery to add to our list."

"B-But that's just…weird! That every one of us would get knocked out like that…" Makoto said in shock and surprise. "And how Nepgear doesn't remember…"

"Exactly! That's why we're all freakin' out!" Mondo yelled out.

"And that's not the only thing." Taka said. "You saw where all the windows in the classes and hallways were, right? But instead of normal glass windows, it was a bunch of big metal plates! What's that about!?"

_Now that you mentioned that, the windows were all bolted._

"Plus, all my stuff went missing! Even my cell phone…" Junko spoke up.

"Yeah, your right." Chihiro said. "I haven't seen PDA anywhere, either…"

 _My stuff…?_ I checked my body to find something. _Am I supposed to be missing something?_

"And then there's the main hall here." Taka said. "The front exit is completely blocked by some giant metal hatch. But there wasn't anything like that when I first got here…!" He started to get upset. "What the heck!? What's it doing here!?"

_So the metal hatch wasn't supposed to be here…_

…

_Why do I still have this feeling that I want to take it apart?_

"Maybe we got caught up in some kinda, like, you know…crime or something?" Junko suggested.

"What, like…a kidnapping?" Leon asked nervously. "You think maybe someone grabbed us and hauled us off and we're not actually at school?"

_Kidnapping?! Why would someone do that?!_

"Come on, don't think like that. Cheer up!" Hiro said. "I bet this all just a part of the school's orientation procedure."

"Like a prank?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's it! So I'm just gonna take it easy for a bit." Hiro said confidently.

"Oh…" Chihiro said in relief. "So you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?"

"Huh. Well if that's all it is, it's nap time for me." Leon said. "I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye."

_It has to be a prank, right? So why do I feel that there is something wrong?_

Ding dong, bing bong*

Suddenly, the monitor in the room turned on. "Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system!" A cheerful voice said. "Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then…!"

The voice continued. "Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at…right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. That's all. I'll be waiting!" And then the monitor turned off.

_Wh-What was that…? It felt so…out of place…_

No one spoke up for a few seconds until…

"What. The. Hell was that just now?" Junko spoke up.

No one said anything until Byakuya moved away. "Well then, if you'll excuse me…"

"H-Hey! What, you're gonna take off just like that?" Junko called out.

"Ohh yeah, now I get it! This whole thing was just to get us all pumped for the entrance ceremony!" Hiro then laughed. "Man, thank god it was all a joke. I'd be totally freaked out if this was real!"

_I don't think this is a joke anymore._

"Alright, guess I'll head out, too. Wonder what they got planned for us next…" Then Hiro started to leave.

"Damn, I was totally looking forward to that nap, too. Leon said in disappointment. "Why'd they have to go and kill the mood?" And then, Leon left.

"W-Wait for me! I wanna go with you!" Chihiro said as she left.

"That is that, then. I will see you all there." Celeste said as she followed the others.

"N-Not that anyone cares, but I-I'm going, too…" Toko left to follow the others.

Everyone left for the gymnasium, while I just stood there thinking on what to do.

"This…this doesn't seem right." Sayaka said nervously.

Yeah, that announcement was totally weird." Junko said in agreement.

"Maybe, but just staying out doesn't mean we'll be safe." Kyoko stated. "Besides, aren't you guys just a bit curious to find what's going on around here?"

"If we don't move forward, we learn nothing. The only choice is to push ahead." Sakura said.

_I guess they're both right…_

"They said to go to the gym, right?" Makoto asked.

"Um, I don't know where the gym is," I said. "So can I follow you guys?"

Kyoko only nodded and then like that the rest of us went to what seems to be a trophy room.

"God, I had no idea this Hope's Peak Academy place was gonna be a pain in the balls." Mondo said. "It really ain't that much different from the time I sent in juvie. Hell, this place is even worse!"

_Um…what?_

"And why isn't there anyone here?" Sayaka asked. "Walking through the halls, I didn't see a single person…"

"Isn't that like, seriously not good?" Junko asked nervously.

"Th-They're just trying to spook us! They'll take those metal plates down later, I'm sure of it…" Taka said, trying to sound reassuring.

"All we can do now is hope for the best and prepared for the worst." Sakura said. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"Well, hell, it ain't like I'm scared or nothin'. Let's get this over with!" Mondo said. "Hey! Where's whoever called us here!?" He yelled as he ran into the gym.

"Mondo, stop! No running!" Taka said as he too ran after Mondo.

Sakura followed after them. "I too shall go."

"H-Hey, wait! Don't leave me alone!" Hifumi cried out as he followed them.

_This has to be a joke, right? There is no way something bad is going to happen, right?_

"N-Nepgear, are you okay?" Makoto asked.

"Huh?" I looked at Makoto. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine…We should go too."

Makoto nodded as the rest of us followed after them. When we all entered.

"Oh. It really does look like an entrance ceremony…" Makoto said.

The place looks like a gym with a red carpet leading a bunch of red chairs.

"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff."

_He's right about that but…why do I still feel that there is something wrong?_

Then the same cheerful voice broke my thoughts. "Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!"

All of a sudden, a monochrome bear popped out of the podium on the stage.

"Huh? A…teddy bear?" Chihiro spoke up.

The bear has two sides. The first side was white and cute teddy bear while the other side black with a scary smile and red lightning bolt as its eyes.

_No it's not a teddy bear…it's…a mechanical bear! Oh my goodness! The mechanism! The way it looks! The way it pops up! This looks so cool! I want to dismantle it so it can be used for stress relief…_

**Nepgear has mastered the "Escapism" Affinity!**

_What the goodness, again!?_

Then all of the sudden, the bear spoke. "I'm not a teddy bear! I…am…Monokuma! And I am this school headmaster! Nice to meet you all!"

"Wh—? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!" Hifumi said in shock.

"Calm down! I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it." Taka said, he was also surprised by this.

"I told you already, I'm not a teddy bear…" It then hopped off the podium. "I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!"

"Waaaah! It moved!" Hifumi said.

"Seriously man, calm down! It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin'." Mondo exclaimed.

This depressed Monokuma. "How dare you compare me to a child's plaything! You've cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench." It then got out of that state. "My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can't recreate or even comprehend."

_It's really that complex! I don't know what NASA is but I really want to take it apart!_

Monokuma continued on. "Ah, but don't make me say stuff that might destroy NASA's dreams. I just couldn't BEAR that!"

"'Bear' that? Really? You are…unfortunate." Celeste said.

"Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started…" Monokuma continued.

"Giving up already? No other stupid bear puns?" Junko questioned.

"Quiet down now, quiet down. Ah, okay, so…!" Monokuma said, ignoring Junko.

"He has abandoned the gag…" Sakura deadpanned.

"Okay, first…!" Monokuma then pointed directly at me. "Stop drooling!"

_Huh?_

I looked around to see that everyone was looking at me. "Oh…um…I-I'm s-sorry…" I wiped the drool off with my sleeve.

"Alrighty then…" Monokuma said. "Everyone, stand at attention and bow! And…good morning!"

"Good morning!" Taka responded back.

"Y-You don't have to s-say it back…" Toko told Taka in annoyance.

"Now then," Monokuma spoke up. "Let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony! First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like."

"Now, ah, make no mistake—you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world." Monokuma explained. "And to protect such splendid hope…"

"…you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school." Monokuma kept explaining. "Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school."

_What does it mean by that?_

"Ah, now then…regarding the end date for this communal life…" Then Monokuma dropped the bomb on us. "There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned."

_Huh…? What did he say?_

"W-What did he just say?" Toko sputtered out. "Until the day we d-die…?"

"Oh, but fear not!" Monokuma continued. "We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences."

"That's the least of our worries right now!" Sayaka said.

"Yeah, what the hell?" Junko said angrily. "You're saying I have to live here forever? You're screwing with us, right?"

_No, I don't think he is now._

"I am not screwing with you!" Monokuma said angrily. "I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure. Ah, just for your information…you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about the dirty dirty land beyond the walls ever again!"

"Cut off…?" Makoto repeated. "So all those metal plates all over the school are there to keep us in here?"

"That's exactly what they're here for." Monokuma confirmed. "No matter how much you may yell and scream for help…help will not come. So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"

"Come on, what the hell is this?" Leon questioned. "I don't care if the school or whatever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke."

"Yeah! Cut this shit out! This isn't funny anymore!" Mondo said angrily.

_I…I-I…don't…_

"You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you." Monokuma said in annoyance. "But I guess you can't help it, right? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbor…" Then Monokuma continued on. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."

"Having to live here forever would be…quite the problem." Celeste said, looking down.

I can feel myself tense up, asking these same questions from before. _What is going on? Why am I here? I don't know what to do! Is there anything we can do?_

"Come, now. What's the matter with all of you?" Monokuma questioned. "You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave?"

_Yeah and I also want to know what is going…_

"Oh, but you know…" Monokuma continued. "I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is one way for you to leave the school…"

_Huh?_

"R-Really?" Toko asked.

"As headmaster, I've created a special clause for those of you who would like to leave!" Monokuma said. "I call it…the Graduation Clause!"

"Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule." Monokuma kept explaining. "As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!"

"What do you mean by 'disrupt the harmony'?" Byakuya asked.

"Y-Yeah," I spoke up. "What do you mean by…?"

"Phuhu…Well, you know…" Then Monokuma dropped the final bomb. "If one person were to murder another."

"M-Murder!?" Me and Makoto yelled out in shock.

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter." Monokuma listed off. "You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible."

Monokuma then started to talk about something but I didn't hear it or at least, I couldn't hear it.

_Kill? Murder? This has to be a joke! It **has** to be a cruel joke! I don't want to kill…_

**_Kill…_ **

_Huh…?_

**_Kill…_ **

_Th-That voice is…'_

**_Kill them…_ **

_No…I don't want to remember…_

**_Kill them all…_ **

**_Kill them like the rest…_ **

**_Show them your power…_ **

I clutched my head in pain.

_It hurts…it hurts…This guilt…This pain…_

**_Kill them!_ **

**_Kill them!_ **

**_Kill them!_ **

**_Kill them all!_ **

_I…don't…I…don't…want to remember…_

**_Kill!_ **

**_Kill!_ **

**_Kill!_ **

**_Show them what you can do!_ **

_I'm sorry…Uni…_

_I'm…sorry…Rom…Ram…_

_I'm…sorry…Noire…Blanc…Vert…_

…

_I'm…sorry…Neptune…_

And then, I suddenly passed out…


	7. Chapter 7: EraSed

…

…

…

_W-Where…?_

I suddenly woke up in a room I was unfamiliar with.

_What am I doing here?_

I try to remember what happened before and remembered that I met a boy named Makoto, met with the Ultimates, and met Monokuma who said we are forced to stay here and…

…

_Why can't I remember what happened after that? What did Monokuma say after that? I can't remember… What is going on?!_

I shakes those thoughts off and slowly got up and looked around to see where I am:

The room's walls were reddish pink and its floors were blue. The bed that I laid on was pink, even the trash can was pink. There were tables and a chair behind the bed. There was also a camera near it and a monitor right next to the door which leads to the bathroom. On the table, there was some sort of tablet which looked really cool and some keys next to it.

I slowly walk over and pick up the keys and the tablet that were on the table. I took a closer look at the keys, the keychain attached to it has my name on it.

_So this must be my room since these keys have my name on it._

I also looked at the tablet that I have. The top right shows the words "Hope's Peak Academy" and below it was "e-Handbook."

_An e-Handbook? Either way, it looks so cool! The way it looks seems durable…I have to try that later…_

I tapped on the screen, it turned on and showed my name "Nepgear" on it. Next, it showed a list from top to bottom was Maps, Truth Bullets, Skills, Report Cards, Regulations, and System.

_I look at these later…_

I put the keys in one of my pockets and the e-Handbook in some sort of holder and…

_Wait, did the author forgot to put my appearance? Oh goodness, sorry about that! He didn't have time put it in so here's what I looked like:_

I have long light purple hair as purple eyes. I have a D-pad clip hair on my left side and a white choker around my neck. I wear a white and purple sailor-style dress with a yellow ribbon with a band with the letter N, a white holder at my thigh, pink striped thigh-high socks, and white and purple medium size boots.

And now back to the…wait, why am I describing everything about…

…

Probably just nothing…

…

Either way, I think that's all but now to the important question:

_Why can't I remember anything after that? It's like…_

_My memories are completely erased…_

…

…

_It's probably just nothing though…_

_But…_

_Did someone carry me into this room?_

_And if that's so…_

"What is everyone else up to now?" I said the question out loud.

_I guess the only way to find out is to go outside this room…_

I went outside the room and found out that someone was waiting for me…

*WHAM*

And the next thing I knew was Makoto lying on the ground, rubbing his head. I was also lying on the ground as well.

"O-Oh…um…I'm sorry, Makoto!" I said.

"No, I'm sorry for bumping into you." Makoto replied. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine…" I picked myself up and lent a hand to Makoto. He took my hand and I helped him up.

There was an awkward silence between us.

"So…um…what are you doing here?" I spoked up.

"Well…um…I came to get you." He answered.

_What did he mean by that?_

"Huh? Where? And what for?" I asked with little confusion.

"Oh, that…" Makoto started to explain. "After you passed out, everyone decided to do their own thing. We all decided to meet up at the dining hall to discuss our findings.

"Oh, is that it?" I thought for a little bit. "Okay…um…let's go…"

Makoto nodded as he walked over to the dining while I quickly followed him.

The dining hall looks kinda like a restaurant or something like that. And then we saw Sayaka there.

"Hey Nepgear!" Sayaka greeted me.

"H-Hi Sayaka…" I greeted back.

 _It looks like everyone's not here yet…_ I thought. _I guess we have to stay here for awhile…_

"Okay, let's just wait here." Sayaka said, surprising both of us.

"H-Huh!? H-How—" I stuttered.

"Like I said, I'm psychic!" She said with a straight face but then it evaporated into a smile. "Just kidding! I just have amazing intuition."

"O-Oh, really?"

_I guess for now I'll ask my question about what happened…_

"So…um…sorry to ask…" I took a deep breath. "Can I ask what happened after Monokuma said about us being trapped here?"

Their amused smiles suddenly turned into shocked expressions. "Wait, you don't remember?" Makoto asked.

I didn't say anything but I nodded my head. They both seem troubled by it.

"You must have forgotten when you passed out so I guess I'll tell you." Makoto said in grimace.

Makoto explained that right now as well as being trapped here, we were also supposed to kill each other and get away with it in order for us to get out.

_This is a lot to take in…but…there is no way someone is going to kill, right?_

…

 _Why did that sound so familiar?_ I thought. _And why can't I remember anything else before?_

…

 _Everyone is not here yet…_ I thought. _What time is it again? Where's the clock?_

I scanned the area and my eyes suddenly. "7:00 pm!? I've passed out for that long!"

"Yeah, you've passed out for a really long time." Makoto said.

_I see…I might lose my sense of time if I can't look out the window. If that happens…I might get stress._

"I can't believe no one's here yet." Sayaka said. "But I'm sure they'll start showing up soon…"

Like he somehow timed it, Taka threw open the dining hall doors just as Sayaka said that.

_W-Wha…H-How…How did he time that? Is this plot convenience or—_

_Wait, what am I saying?_

"Ah, Makoto! Sayaka! Nepgear! So you three got here first, huh?" He then looked down in disappointment. "Too bad…I was sure I'd beat everyone here. I guess that just means I don't have enough fighting spirit yet!"

But he suddenly picked himself up. "Well I won't give up! Next time, I swear I'll win no matter what it takes! Justice shall always prevail!"

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" She said with a smile.

_Yeah…_

After that, everyone came in and a little while after that…

Everyone gathered at the dining table.

"Okay! It looks like everyone's here." Taka announced. Time to start the meeting! Let's all go around and share what we found out during our respective investigation! The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!"

_I guess I'll have to listen to what they have to say…_

… _Probably in the next chapter or something…_

_Wait, what?_


	8. Chapter 8: tHe first meeting…

"Wait, hold on a sec!" Junko interrupted as she looked around

"What's wrong?!" Taka asked in annoyance.

"What about, uh…what's her name? You know the silver-haired girl." Junko said, trying to remember this girl's name. "Uhh…oh yeah, Kyoko!"

"…What about her?" Taka asked

"She's not here." Junko answered him.

"What!?" Taka said in a shock.

We all looked around to see that Kyoko wasn't here yet.

"I wonder where she went." Hina said in concern. "Has anyone seen her?"

Everyone shook their head to that question.

"Wait, so 'nobody' has seen her…?" Chihiro spoke up.

 _Wait, Makoto said that we need to kill someone in order to get out…_ I thought. _Is she really…?_

I shook that thought off. _That's impossible! No one would do that!_

"Darn it, Kyoko! You're really going to be late like this on the first day of school?" Taka said in frustration. "Not only is she late, she didn't tell anyone she would be late! A most unbecoming personality trait…"

"You're being a real jackass right now, you know that?" Junko said as she looked at him.

"Well what do you want me to do!? Punctuality is everything!" Taka said in his defense.

_Although we technically are in school, the circumstances tell us otherwise…_

"Now then, I declare that the first session of the Hope's Peak Academy briefing meeting has begun!" Taka announced.

"Nepgear…" Makoto said. "Since you're in the dark about everything, I'll tell you about what has been going on." He then continued on. "Byakuya and Taka went off on their own, so did Kyoko. Leon, Hiro, Chihiro, and Junko all grouped together. So did Hina, Sakura, and Mondo. Celeste, Toko, and Hifumi did that as well kinda."

_I also have something to say but I'll let everyone say what they know…_

Byakuya then spoke up. "I wanted to try and find some clues as to who's responsible for imprisoning us here…" He explained. "But unfortunately, I made no such discoveries. That's all for me…"

"Really? That's it?" Taka questioned.

"If I'd uncovered anything, naturally I would have more to say." Byakuya stated the obvious. "But I didn't. So I don't.

"R-Right, understood…" Taka said before he started his report. "I spent some time looking around the dormitory, and there I made the discovery of the century! I found that there was exactly one room for each person!"

_Um…what?_

"Well yeah, I figured that out before anything else…" Hina said.

"Each door already has a nameplate on it, so I guess all the rooms have been assigned already." Junko explained.

"And each room key was attached to a keychain with the owner's name precision-etched on it." Sakura continued on.

_I kinda already figured that out…_

"And Chihiro and I found out that all the rooms are totally soundproof." Junko continued on for Sakura.

"Your next-door neighbor could scream their lungs out and you wouldn't hear a thing…" Chihiro added.

"Well, each room also had a private bathroom, which could lock." Celeste added in as well.

"But it looked like there were only locks on the bathroom in the girl's room." Junko said.

_Never checked but I guess that's what he had to say…_

"Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us." Mondo said. "They're assuming we're going to be here for a while…"

"Well, better to have than have not!" Taka said in his similar passion. "At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals."

"Th-That can't be all you have to r-report, can it Mr. Honor S-Student?" Toko asked.

Taka thought for a moment. "That's all for my report! Let's move on to whoever's next!"

Junko then spoke up to explain that she, Chihiro, Leon, and Hiro double-checked on windows in the hallways and the classes to see if they could get any of them to come off and well…

"Nothing. Not a damn thing." Leon explained. "We couldn't get a single one to budge even a little bit."

_Nothing!?_

"There wasn't any hope of escape anywhere…" Chihiro said tearfully. "The school really has been totally cut off."

"This sucks…" Junko groaned. "It really sucks. It sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! What hell are we going to do!?"

"Goddamn, calm down!" Leon said, getting really nervous. "You're starting to make me nervous!"

After a moment of silence, Hina then spoke up and said that she, Sakura, and Mondo were trying to find some way to communicate with the outside and they couldn't find anything.

"I went to the main hall, thinking maybe we could do something about that giant hunk of metal." Mondo explained. "But even with Sakura and me both, it wouldn't budge. We hit it with the desks and chairs, and nothin'. It was as, like…metal."

"Well, yes, it is metal…" Celeste commented.

"Anyway, if we're gonna get outta here, it's not gonna be through there." Mondo said.

"I feel like I could just cry…" She said sadly. "But no, I have to hold it in! I have to manage my hydration…!"

_But that door seems like it can be remote controlled last time I remember it so there has to be some way we can open that…_

"I shall tell what happened next…" Sakura spoke up. "It has nothing to do with communicating with the outside world, but it's still worth worrying about. In both the school and dorm areas, there was a set of stairs leading up to another floor."

"But there were gates there, and we couldn't find any way to open them, so we couldn't check it out." Hina said.

"In other words, at this point we are only able to search the 1st floor." Sakura continued on. We can further assume that there is potentially something above the 2nd floor, as well. And if that's the case, there is at least a chance it may lead to a way out."

_I hope so…_

After they were finished with that, Celeste spoke up. "If I am being honest, I can't quite say we acted as one." She said as she referred to her, Hifumi, and Toko. "Rather we did nothing as one. We spent the entire time in the gym." She then looked down. "Honestly, we are not exactly the types to go around a school like a bunch of junior detectives."

Then Junko spoke up, asking why they were just staying in the gym this entire time. Toko said that no one ever invited her and then Junko refuted saying that she could have just asked. Toko however insulted Junko with a word I can't even say out loud and kept insulting her and then…

"I…I don't even know how to react." Junko said angrily. "How can you say something so awful to someone you just met."

"Alright guys, everyone calm down, okay?" Hiro spoke up. All this stress is bad for the skin, y'know?"

"Yeah!" Sayaka agreed. "It sounds like you two are so close now you're fighting like sisters."

_I don't think that is what is happening…_

Then Sayaka spoke up again. "As for me and Makoto," She then started to explain. "We went and looked around the dining hall. We found a fridge in the back of the kitchen and it was overflowing with all kinds of stuff. I guess we don't have to worry about food, at least."

"Sure, for now." Hifumi spoke up. "But even with all of that, there are sixteen of us. How long can the food last…?"

"I don't think we have to worry about it." Sayaka said. "All the food gets restocked automatically every day. At least, that's what Monokuma said."

"You saw him?!" Junko exclaimed.

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, he came out of nowhere and told us that," Makoto started to explain. "And then he disappeared again. He moved so fast that we were both caught off guard."

"A weaponized toy that can appear from nowhere…" Chihiro said. "I can't tell if we're supposed to be afraid or not."

_Yeah, me too…I guess I have to voice something of my own…_

"Hey guys…" I said, grabbing everyone's attention. "I want to talk about something, something about me…"

"S-Something about you?" Hifumi said and then he had an odd expression on his face. "What do you mean by that?"

"U-Um…no," I said, feeling a little disturbed. "Remember I said that I don't remember ever coming here…"

Everyone nodded and I continued on. "About that, I can't remember anything else before. Like you guys, the Ultimates, or even this school. "I can't even remember who I am myself…"

This shocked everyone around me. "So wait, you can't remember anything?" Junko asked.

I didn't say anything but I just nodded which resulted in a lot of confused and shocked faces.

"How is this possible?" Hina spoke up. "How can you not remember anything?"

"I…really don't know…" I answered. Because I really can't remember anything…"

"What the hell is going on?" Leon asked which no one answered.

"I think I can answer that…" someone spoke up. Everyone turned around and saw that Kyoko walked in.

"Kyoko! Where have you been?!" Taka questioned her. "We already started the meeting without you."

She didn't say anything. Instead she went and dropped a map of some sort on the table.

"Huh? What's this?" Makoto asked out of curiosity.

"Before I'd answered that…" She spoke before she turned to me. "I'll answer this question at hand first…" She looked at me. "You'd said that you don't remember anything, right?"

I nodded and then she thought for a moment and said. "Then you must have lost your memories…"

Everyone was shocked by this revelation, no one spoke up until…

"But that's impossible!" Hina spoke up. "There is no way she could have lost her memories."

"But that is the absolute truth…" Kyoko countered. "Right now, she is unable to remember anything."

No one wasn't able to refute this until…

"B-But how do you know about all of this?" Taka asked and he then pointed at the map. "And what is that and where did you even get this?

"It appears to be a map of Hope's Peak Academy." Kyoko answered. "And it doesn't matter how I know this and where I got it."

"It DOES matter." Taka disagreed. "You're really freaking us out right now!"

"Never mind that." Junko interrupted. "What's it mean?"

"Just look at it." Kyoko said. "The building we're in right now is laid out in precisely the same way as Hope's Peak Academy."

"So what you're saying is…this really is Hope's Peak Academy?" Makoto said, clarifying what Kyoko said.

_It couldn't be anything else other than that since I can't remember anything…_

"Well, in terms of its construction, yes." Kyoko answered. "But it looks like it's had a number of strange…renovations done to it."

"Like that metal hatch?" I asked.

Kyoko nodded. "Although I don't know all the details yet. All I found was details about the first floor."

"But then…" Chihiro spoke up. "This really is Hope's Peak. We didn't get kidnapped and taken to some other place…"

"So stupid it's not even possible." Mondo said angrily. "This is where the country's future elite are supposed come and learn?"

"But if this really is Hope's Peak, where are all the other students?" Hina questioned.

"Hey, come on, guys." Hiro spoke up. "Let's just stop talking about all this…you know, negative stuff…"

"But aren't you worried?" Makoto asked. "Things don't look good…"

"Worried? What's there to be worried about?" Hiro asked. "I mean, this was planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right?"

_You still think this is a prank?!_

He then laughed it off. "Man, if I got stressed every time something like this happened, I'd have ectoplasm shooting out my mouth! Good things come to those who wait, right? So we just gotta chill and everything'll work itself out!"

_I know, but…_

This time, it was Celeste's turn to laugh. "Wh-Why are you laughing? What's so funny!?" Toko asked.

"I am just happy, that is all." She explained. "It seems splitting up to investigate was a good idea, after all."

"Haven't you b-been listening!?" Toko exclaimed. "Looking around was a t-total waste of t-time! We d-didn't find a way out, didn't f-find who's behind this. We still have no idea what's g-going on!"

"Huh? Is it not crystal clear to you what is going on?" Celeste questioned with mild surprise. She then dropped the unfortunate truth. "It is perfectly obvious that we have been imprisoned in some secret location, with no way out."

I wasn't able to say anything nor did anyone else.

_I'm imprisoned here…Why? What did I do to deserve all of this? Why?_

"You didn't h-have to go and s-say that." Toko spoke up. "I was trying not to th-think about it. N-No way out… We're trapped here. What are w-we supposed to d-do?"

"It's very simple. If you want to leave, you just have to kill—" Byakuya started to say with a smirk.

"Don't even joke about that!" Junko interrupted angrily.

"Everyone just calm down please!" Sayaka pleaded. "We need to stop and think about what to do from here."

"There's gotta be something we can do…" Leon said in agreement.

"All we can do is adapt." Celeste answered. "Adapt to living our lives here from now on."

"Live here…?" Chihiro questioned tearfully. "Are you saying we should just accept it?"

"A lack of adaptability…is a lack of survivability." Celeste said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt. As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mondo asked.

"We all understand that we are trapped here. Which means we will be spending the night. However…" Celeste explained. "You all remember the rule regarding nighttime, right?"

 _I was passed out so no I don't…_ I thought. _Let me check that right now!_

I opened my e-Handbook and tapped on Regulations:

* * *

**Rule #1: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.**

**Rule #2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.**

**Rule #3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.**

**Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.**

**Rule #5: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.**

**Rule #6: Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.**

**Rule #7: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.**

* * *

_W-Wha—_

"So regarding this 'nighttime', I think we need to add a rule of our own." Celeste suggested.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

"Going out at nighttime should be prohibited altogether." She proposed. "The school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night. I would like to make it official."

"B-But why…?" Toko asked.

"The way things are now, every time night comes we will all start to get worried and anxious." Celeste explained. "We will be afraid someone might try and come kill us."

"What!?" Sayaka cried out.

"If we have to worry about that night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time." Celeste continued to explain.

"So you're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure." Sakura deduced.

Celeste nodded. "However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it."

I see what you mean. But…I think I can agree to that." Junko said in agreement. "It's like the little goth lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct."

"On the behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!" Taka spoke up.

"Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!" Leon complained.

"So everyone is in agreement? Good." Celeste quickly said. "Then if you excuse me…" She said as she stood up from her seat.

"Huh? Wait, where are you going?" Chihiro asked.

"It is almost nighttime. I want to take a show before it arrives." She simply said. "So…goodbye." And with that, Celeste left the dining hall.

After a moment of silence, Hifumi spoke up. "S-So I guess it's pretty obvious where we go from here. We'll be spending the night, it looks like."

_Y-Yeah, I guess so…_

"Adaptability…" Sakura repeated what Celeste had said.

"So Mr. Chairman…what's next?" Junko asked Taka. "One person already left."

"U-Ummm…" Taka thought for a moment. "Well then, what say we call an end to today's meeting!? Like she said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Do we really have to stay the night here…?" Chihiro asked tearfully.

"We don't have a choice." Junko said. "We can't go for long without some sleep."

"So we have to just give up…" Mondo said, looking down.

"That's all f-fine and good for t-today, but what do we d-do tomorrow?" Toko asked.

"Our only option is to split up and look around again," Sakura answered. "And let everyone know if we find anything."

"Yeah, okay. Let's do that…!" Hina agreed.

"Then we're done for today?" Junko asked. "Good, I'm exhausted…" And with Junko and the others left the dining hall.

Makoto, Nepgear…Are you ready to call it a day?" Sayaka asked us.

We both nodded. "Yeah, let's go." Makoto said. And then, we went back to our own rooms.

When I got there, the first thing I thought was:

_Am I really going to stay here? Is there anything or anyone outside this school that knows me?_

…

_I'm just going to take a shower…I'm too tired to think for today…_

After I took a shower, I checked the e-Handbook one last time to see what it does.

The Maps app now shows only the first floor when I tapped on it. The Truth Bullets app couldn't show anything so exit that out. The Skills app, however, showed me all the skills I had up to this point but one skill I unfamiliar with:

* * *

 **-MPBL** **Affinity**

**Description- …**

* * *

_What is this? I don't remember having this._

…

_I should worry about that later…_

…

_I have already checked the Regulations so I don't have to tap on that._

The Report Cards app show all the people here with including mine:

* * *

**Name: Nepgear**

**Height: 5'1"**

**Weight: 88.2 lbs**

**Chest: 78 cm**

**Special Ability: Unknown**

* * *

_What does it mean by special ability? I guess I'll have to figure it out later…_

Lastly, I check the System app which just shows if you want to change the brightness or the color.

_It looks so cool! I'll guess I'll test the durability later when I have the chance…_

All of the sudden the monitor turned on, revealing Monokuma. "Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It's now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then….sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." And with that, the monitor turned off.

_That sounds so creepy…_

As I lay down the bed, I kept on thinking:

_Still, why can't I remember anything? Who was missing from my memories? Who did I look up to?_

While thinking about this, I slowly fall asleep.

_Where…are…they…now…?_

…


	9. Chapter 9: Nepgear’s Nightmare

_Where am I?_

I saw that I was in a forest with purple haired girl wear in a white and purple parka-hoodie.

_Who is that?_

" _Ahh, this is so nostalgic, isn't it?"_ The girl said. " _Remember when we played right over when we were itty-bitty?"_

" _Wait, what are you talking about? Who are you—?"_

" _Oh…I see."_ The girl said with understanding. " _I guess you were still really little."_

" _Huh?"_

"…"

" _Hehehe, boy it sure is quiet here." She said._

" _Who are you?"_

She didn't answer. " _Well, um…" She stuttered out before going quiet._

" _Who are you? Why am I here? What am I doing here? Is there a reason why I'm here?"_

" _W-Wait, there's definitely a big reason for my bringing you here." She answered._

" _Huh? What reason?"_

" _Don't be too shocked, okay?" She said as she reassured me._

" _Oh…um…ok, what is it?"_

" _Okay, okay, I'll tell you now. Right now. Okay, this is it."_ She then dropped a huge bomb. " _I want you to kill me with your sword."_

" _My…sword?"_ I looked down to see that I was holding this dark purple sword.

" _Good, you weren't shocked."_ She said in relief. " _You're carrying it with you, right? So, c'mon, finish me off and stuff."_

" _W-Wait, I just met you! I don't even know—"_

All of the sudden, my body moved on it's own and suddenly…

Suddenly…

Suddenly…

_Sud…denly…_

I woke up at a start and at the same moment, the school bell rang again. A monitor then turned on and Monokuma said. "Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!" And with that, it turned off.

But I didn't care what Monokuma just said, all I cared about was about what just happened:

_What is going on? Was that a nightmare? But why can't I remember anything from that?_

_And why?_

_Why…?_

_W-Why…?_

_Why am I crying now?_

…

I decided to shake that thought off and moved off the bed.

_I guess I'll start the day by talking to Makoto…_

I changed back into my old clothes I had yesterday, since I don't think there were any other clothes for me, and went out the door. There I saw Makoto and Sayaka talking to each other.

"Oh hi Makoto, Sayaka!" I greeted both of them. They then both turned to me and waved back.

"Hi Nepgear!" Makoto greeted back and Sayaka did the same.

"So what are you two up to?" I asked.

"Oh…um…we were both about to head out." Makoto answered.

"Huh? Where are you heading?"

This time Sayaka answered. "Oh…um…" She then started to get nervous. "I've been thinking that…there's something around here for self-defense."

"S-Self-defense!? Why!?" I said in disbelief.

"Well, I mean," Sayaka explained. "Whoever's keeping us here could show up and attack us at any time. You never know."

 _She is right about that…_ I thought. _You may not know who might attack…_

"So I just…want to be able to protect myself no matter what happens." She continued to explain. "That's why I asked Makoto about it and now we're heading to the gym."

"Huh!? Really?!" I then thought for a moment. _Maybe I should come along as well…_

"So want to come along as well?" She asked, interrupting my thoughts.

This, of course, startled me again. "W-What!? Again!?"

"Like I said, I'm psychic." She said with a straight face before she giggled again like the other times. "Come on, I'm just kidding! Seriously, I just have amazing intuition."

_How am I getting tricked by this? Wait, is there going to be…_

**Nepgear has mastered the "Getting Tricked" Affinity!**

_Of course…_ I thought. _Either way, let's get to the gym!_

So the three of us started going to the gym, and soon we were in the trophy room.

"Here we go." Sayaka said. "I might be able to find something to protect myself with." She looked around the room. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll find something in the display case I can use."

 _But could any of these be used for self-defense…_ I thought while looking around. _I mean, I don't know anything about fighting so…_

All of the sudden, I heard Makoto saying. "Jeez! I barely touched it and I got that gold stuff all over my hands."

 _Huh?_ I turned around to see that his hand was really covered with gold stuff. And in front of him was a golden katana or at least that is what I think it is…

…

…

 _Why does looking at it make me sad?_ I thought. _Like someone I should know someone that uses something like this before…_

"Hey Nepgear, are you okay?" Makoto asked. "You seem sad about something."

"Oh! Um…it's nothing…" I said. "I'm just thinking about something…"

"O-Oh, really?" Makoto thought for a moment. "Are you sure it's nothing?"

I only nodded in which Makoto slowly complied with it and turned his attention. Sayaka was also looking at the katana.

"About this katana." Sayaka said. "I think this is a little…"

Makoto then sighed. "Well, it's still better than nothing, I guess."

"You should take it with you!" Sayaka suggested it to Makoto. "It might help liven up your room a little."

_Wait, you're not going to take it?_

"You think so?" Makoto asked.

"But I guess you'd better be careful with it." She said. "You should wrap it in newspapers or something." She then looked around. "I don't see anything I could really use for self-defense…" She said in disappointment.

"H-Hey, don't worry about it!" Makoto said, reassuring her. "It's not like you need it right away, right? Plus, if anything were to happen…."

"When the time comes…I'll protect you." He declared

This definitely surprised me. _How noble!_ I thought to myself.

This also surprised Sayaka. "You'll…protect me?" She then blushed and a small smile formed on her face. "Thank you for saying that…" She said softly. "If I've got you on my side, I guess I don't need a weapon after all."

Makoto then nodded and then turned to me. "I'll protect you too, Nepgear!"

"H-Huh?! W-What!? Me!?" I said in complete surprise. "Why?"

"Because…" He said and then he thought for a moment. "You're my friend too."

_A…friend? I don't know how to say this but…_

"Thanks, Makoto…" I smiled a little. You're…a really good person."

"Okay, we can stop looking for a weapon, then." Sayaka said. "But as long as we're here, let's hang out for a little bit."

_Yeah, let's get to know each other…_


	10. Chapter 10: Getting to know your classmates! Part 1

"Umm," Sayaka said, trying to think about what to talk about. "I know I said that to you, but you know that we're here…and that Nepgear is also here…I don't really know what to talk about." She looked down. "And I was the one who invited you both to come with me, too. Sorry…"

"It's okay." Makoto said, reassuring her. "I mean, if there is nothing to talk about, then we can just not talk, right?"

"Huh?"

_What does he mean…_

"You don't have to force yourself to talk." He explained. "We can just, I dunno…stare off into space or whatever."

"Stare off into space…?" Sayaka said, pondering that idea.

 _Staring off into space…_ I thought about that idea.

"Oh, but you're probably super bored!" Makoto added. "Just standing around doing nothing…"

Sayaka quickly spoke up. "No, it's not that it's boring. It's just…I've never really done it before. I don't have a lot of time to just…do nothing."

"I-I guess that makes sense." Makoto said with understanding. "You're not a normal high school student like me. You've got tons of stuff to do every day."

 _He's right about that._ I thought. _It must be kinda hard for someone like her…_

We were both silent for a moment until Sayaka spoke up again. "Hey, um…this is kinda out of nowhere, but…" She then looks towards both of us. "Makoto…Nepgear, do you have a dream?"

"A…dream?" I said in confusion.

"Well, what about you, Sayaka?" He redirected a question back to her. "What's your dream? I'd love to hear…"

"Yeah, me too…" I said in agreement.

"I…My dream is…" Sayaka began. She smiled a little. "I've always wanted to be a star, as long as I can remember. I grew up without a mother, you know, and my dad worked really late every night. I was always home alone. I was just a kid, you know? So I was really lonely."

 _That must have been horrible…I don't think anyone could live through that…_ I thought. _Was I ever alone?_

"But that all changed when I saw a pop star on TV for the first time." She continued to explain. "She was so pretty, like a princess. And she could sing, and dance, but more than anything else, there was her smile. Looking at her smile, I could feel my loneliness melting away. I decided that's what I wanted to be someday. I wanted to give that kind of encouragement to others. Eventually, that became my dream."

"That's so amazing, though." Makoto said. "You were able to actually fulfill your lifelong dream. Honestly, it's really incredible."

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing that you're living your dream." I said in agreement.

All of the sudden, Sayaka was completely silent. When she spoke, looking serious. "I did whatever it took to reach that dream. I mean it. Even some things that….weren't so pleasant."

_Huh?_

"I honestly believed that as long as you kept chasing your dreams, someday they may come true." She said passionately. "But to do that, you can't take your eyes off that dream, not even for a second. Even if sometimes it's a bad dream….whether you're awake or asleep, to make your dream a reality, you have to keep your gaze fixed on it no matter what."

_That is one focus view…_

"In that world, if you lose focus for even a split second, you get left behind." She kept explaining. "You have to keep on swimming against the current, without even taking time to breathe. That's the kind of world my dream lives in."

"That sounds kinda tough…" I said.

"Yeah…" Makoto agreed. "But i-is it really that tough? Is it not fun at all?"

"Oh no, don't get the wrong idea." She reassured us. "It's super fun! But….that's exactly what scares me."

"Huh?" We both said in confusion.

"I enjoy every single day I wake up and get to do what I do." She told us. "Everyone in our group is amazing. We're rivals in a way, but they all mean so much to me. We've been performing together since we were young, so they're all like family to me. Without them, I would've given up on my dream a long time ago. To work together, and fulfill our dreams together, has brought me so much happiness." She smiled again.

but suddenly her smile disappeared. "But that's the thing that scares me the most. If the world gets tired of us, then what happens? What happens to us? Then the dream dies, those wonderful days come to an end, and everyone goes their separate ways."

 _She's afraid…_ I thought. _Of just losing it all… Why am I familiar with this?_

"So that's the reason I decided to come to Hope's Peak." Sayaka said.

That got both of our attention. "What do you mean?"

"Well….they say that if you graduate from here, success is basically guaranteed. Which means I could keep on performing with my best friends, forever and ever." She explained. "At least, that's what I thought. I really did believe that, but…now we're trapped here with no way out. They're probably waiting for me," She had this terrified look in her eyes. "While I'm in here, the world out there is forgetting about me. Minute by minute, we're all disappearing. But still…."

"Sayaka…?"

"I can't afford to be stuck in here!" Sayaka yelled out, startling both of us.

 _She's afraid…Desperate…_ I thought. _Being trapped here must be weighing on her…_

She then managed to take control of her own emotions. "Ah—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to complain." Sayaka apologized. "I kinda killed the mood, huh?"

"No, not at all." Makoto said, reassuring her

"Yeah it's fine, really…" I also reassured her.

"I'm really sorry." She apologized again.

Then we both went silent again until Makoto spoke up. "Um, Sayaka…" He then thought for a moment to change the subject. "Actually, are you hungry? Before we head back, why don't we go to the dining hall and get some food?"

Though she was silent for a moment, Sayaka spoke again. Turning her mood from sad to happy. "You both want me to make us something to eat? I might not look like it, but I'm actually a pretty good cook!"

"Wow, really? What's your specialty?" Makoto asked out of curiosity.

"Chili oil." She said with a straight face.

"H-Huh?!" I said in surprise.

"You mean the condiment?!" Makoto was also surprised by the statement.

She then giggled. "Just kidding!" She then burst out laughing.

 _Oh goodness, that was a quick change of personality…_ I thought. _Like she's wearing a mask…_

We then headed down the dining hall and after we ate, we went back to our rooms.

 _Although I didn't say much in that conversation, there is still plenty of time left today._ I thought. _Maybe I should look around._

I walked around to see a Gift Store. I was curious to see what was there. When I stepped inside, I found a lot of random prizes and on the counter was a machine with the name MonoMon Machine.

_A machine? Do I have any money for this?_

I checked my pockets and found this one coin with Monokuma's face on it.

_Where did I get this? Either way, does this work?_

I put in the coin and turned the knob. It played a funny tune and eventually a capsule dropped from the open space below. I picked it up, opened it, and found…

"What the goodness…!" I said with near excitement on my face. "I-It's a ray gun! This looks soooo cool! It looks so high-tech and…" I started to geeked out on it before I noticed something. "Aww, it doesn't have any batteries…"

"Um…Nepgear…?"

_Huh?_

I turned around and saw Makoto looking at me with a surprised look on his face.

"H-Hi Makoto!" I greeted him with an awkward smile.

"So…um…what were you geeking out for?" He asked.

"Well, um…" I felt nervous for a bit. "This…um…ray gun…"

"Huh? Why were you geeking over that?" He asked another question.

"Well…um…I really don't know…" I answered.

"Oh yeah, you still have this amnesia…" He said.

There was awkward silence between us until I'd asked. "Sorry for asking but what's your talent?"

"Huh? You really want to know?" He said kind of shyly. "It's not that good of a talent though but I'm called the **Ultimate Lucky Student**."

"The Ultimate Lucky Student? What's that?" I questioned.

"Well…" He then explained what the Ultimate Lucky Student was. He was basically chosen at random from a lottery ticket. He also said that one gets chosen every year.

"That's pretty amazing! You must be really lucky."

"Hehe…no, not really…" He said sheepishly. "I'm actually kinda unlucky…"

"Huh? How?" I questioned out of curiosity.

"Well, my bathroom door doesn't actually fit in the frame just right."And well…this…"

_Wow! That's really unlucky!_

"And, um, sorry if this is too much…" I apologize in advance. "But do you know about…um…Byakuya's talent?"

Well, he's called the **Ultimate Affluent Progeny**." He answered. "He's the heir to his family's massive financial conglomerate. He's already started managing business operations, and his own personal assets are, well, vast…"

_Wow! That's pretty amazing!_

"Say, you know a lot of information about the people here…" I thought for a moment. "Do you know about anything else?"

"Well, no…" He answered. "But I heard a rumor online…"

"Huh? What rumor?"

"Well, there is a rumor that someone called the **Ultimate Heroine** is supposed to come here." He answered. "But she refused to come here for some reason…"

"Huh? Why though?"

"No one knows for sure." He answered. "Some say she's just one psycho going around calling herself the hero of justice and some say that she's really cool…"

_A psycho that calls herself the hero of justice…That sounds so familiar…_

"And there is one key appearance of her which is her red scarf." He kept explaining. "And that she lives someplace called Heart City…"

_Heart…City? Why do I have a feeling that I need to go there?_

"Oh, um, I'm sorry if it bored you a little bit." He apologized.

"Huh?" I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts. "N-No, it's okay. It sounds really interesting though…"

"Huh? Really!?"

"Yeah, well anyway let's go back for now…" I told him.

He nodded and we both went back to our rooms while talking about the most random stuff that was on our minds.


	11. Chapter 11: Getting to know your classmates! Part 2

After returning to my room, I decided to go talk to someone again.

_Sayaka Maizono_

When I was walking around, I met up with Sayaka again. She was smiling as greeted me. We both talked about how our day has been. Then I wanted to ask a question about something.

"So, um, Sayaka?" I asked her. "How did you know about Makoto?"

Sayaka thought for a moment before speaking again. "Well, I've known him since middle school."

I was surprised by this comment. "Wait, really?!"

"Well, I haven't actually 'known' him." Sayaka explained. "I was actually looking at him around that time."

"Huh?" I looked at her in confusion until I realized what she meant. "Wait, you have been stalking him throughout middle school?!"

This time she was surprised by this before saying. "No, I haven't been stalking him! It's just that I have been looking for an opportunity to talk to him."

"Oh goodness…" I looked down in embarrassment. "Sorry about that…"

"It's okay, really." She said as she reassured me. "Well I always wanted to talk to him but since I always had so many people around, we ended up graduating without saying a word." She then looked down in disappointment. "That was one of my biggest regrets."

"But, why did you want to talk to him?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well, there was this huge bird that wandered into the school pond." She explained. "It was like a fairy tale. The turtle once every million years, the bird once every thousand. Do you know what it was?"

I thought about it for a moment before answering. "So you're saying that a crane was wandering around in the pond?"

"That's right!" Sayaka confirmed. "It was so big, the teacher had no idea what to do." She then smiled. "But Makoto led it into the forest behind the school. He helped it find its way out."

 _So he's really nice that he was able to lead it into the forest."_ I thought to myself. " _That's pretty amazing…"_

"But, um, I already thank him for that." She abruptly said.

"Huh? Why?" I asked out of confusion.

"Because I was that crane, you see." Sayaka said with a smile. "And I was able to return that favor."

I was completely surprised and confused by this. "W-What the goodness?!"

Sayaka then giggled. "Just kidding!"

"Oh… I see…"

"But I was really impressed." She continued. I wanted to talk to him for the longest time. But I never imagine that this is how I got my chance…"

 _Yeah, it is weird…_ I thought to myself.

"But I'm sure that he would help find a way out." She said. "It's just an intuition but I still believe in it."

"Oh, um, okay!" I said with little enthusiasm. "If you believe in it then I will too!"

She smiled. "Well, let's go back for now."

Then we walked back into our rooms while just talking about something.

* * *

_Leon Kuwata_

After talking to Sayaka, I was exploring the area to find Leon. We both greeted each other. We talked for a little while before his mood became serious.

"Well, um, Nepgear?" He suddenly went silent before he went with a fully blunt response. "Let's play baseball!" Then he grinned. "Kidding, kidding! That was a joke. Super joke! I hate baseball!"

But he went silent again. He let out a sigh which was something that I noticed. "Leon, do you really hate baseball?"

This startled Leon for a bit. "Wh-What are you talking about?! Don't be stupid!" He said heatedly. "I hate baseball! I absolutely hate it! I, like, don't like it at all!" He glared at me for a few seconds until he deflated. "...is what I thought. But actually….this is the longest I've ever gone without playing, ya know? I mean, I was so good, they forced me to play like, all the time."

"And being away for so long has changed your perspective on it?" I clarified for him.

Then Leon suddenly growled in frustration. "Dammit! It's like mind control! Baseball brainwashed me!"

_No, I don't think that's it…_

"But fine, whatever! I just wanna throw the ball around a little! But I can't play baseball by myself!" Leon groaned. "I never shoulda come to this school!"

"Leon…" I said quietly.

"If what's happening to us really is some kinda school event thing, then when it's over, I think I'm gonna drop out and go back to my old school." Leon told me. "Maybe my team won't want me back, but all I can do is beg for forgiveness and hope for the best."

"But I'm sure they'll be happy to have you back." I reassured him.

Leon then nodded in agreement, grinning with confidence. Yeah, they can't just drop someone as good as me! I'm sure they'll forgive me no problem! I mean, it's me, right?! I'm the up and coming Koshien Stadium Superstar!" He laughed. "Well I told Makoto about this but you would root for me, right?"

"Um, sure…" I nervously said.

 _Well, I haven't known him for that long but It's kinda hard for me to hate him…_ I thought to myself. _Is this how Leon truly feels?_

Then I waved him goodbye and walked away.

* * *

_Junko Enoshima_

After I walked away from Leon, I went to the A/V room to look at the monitors. Trying to figure out it's mechanics or something.

Little did I know, someone was walking to me. "Heeey, Nepgear~!" Junko called out. "Are you slacking off?"

I quickly turned to her in surprise. "W-What? No, that's not it." I said as I denied it. But then I corrected myself. "Well, kinda. I was a little bit interested in this room so that's why I'm here. Guess I was bored."

Junko then sighed. "Yeah, me too." She admitted. "Let's chill for a while!" Then she sat down on one of the seats.

We both didn't talk that much for a moment, just relaxing, before Junko spoke up again. "Hey, Nepgear? Can I tell you something?" Instead of her usual perky tone, it was softer. "I only told Makoto about this but…"

"Sure, what is it?" I asked her as I sat down on one of the chairs.

"My true intentions." She answered.

"Huh?" I then thought for a moment. _What did she mean by that?_

"To be honest, I'm kinda fed up with all of this." Junko said softly. "I even wonder about it as well."

I looked at her in confusion. "I'm confused, what do you mean by that?"

At that, she stayed silent for a while. After a moment, she spoke again. "Dreams are meant to change as you grow up, right? Depending on where you're at- kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school….but I've had the same dream since I was a little kid, and I've been rushing towards it ever since." She then looked down in frustration. "So I've never really had to think all that hard about my dreams."

"So that means that you still feel the same way?" I asked her curiously.

"That's what I used to think." She admitted. "But if it doesn't change, your possibilities can't grow, right? That's how new opportunities are born. And up until now, I never did that. I never let my dreams grow. All I saw was that one dream. I put everything I had into that one narrow little world." And then, she clenched her hands into a fist. "I feel like there's so much more I could be doing that I'm not, and I don't like that feeling. So I think I'm going to start looking for it. Is it childish of me to think like that? Am I just being a baby?"

"No, I don't think that's it." I reassured her. "I'm kinda in the same position. I don't know what else is out there. I don't remember anything at all. But…" I then finished it off what I have to say. "I think the most important thing is that you're looking for it."

This completely shocked Junko. "This… what Makoto told earlier…" She then thought for a moment. "Which make you just as cool as him!"

"Huh…? What…?!" I suddenly got out of my trance state. "Oh, goodness, I didn't mean to…"

"But you're both right!" Junko interrupted. "Getting lost can be a good thing! As long as you're looking for it, maybe that's enough to be happy." A smile entered her lip. "Yeah. I'm gonna remember what you both said. Thank you."

"Oh, um, sure!" I smiled in embarrassment.

"In return, I promise that if I do decide to kill someone, it won't be either of you!" She said with a big smile.

That scared me for a little bit. "P-Please don't say stuff like that!" But Junko just laughed it off, making me think about what I just said. _Why did I say something like that?! Either way, I guess I got to know her a lot more better…_

"But before I can do what you said, I gotta get out of here first!" She stated abruptly. "So I'm definitely gonna find out how to get out!" With that, she walked off.

 _Please don't yelled about it now!_ I thought to myself. _But I guess she do it like that…_

After resting up in the A/V room, I started walked back to my room thinking. _It's almost at the end…_ I thought to myself. _After getting to know them, they seem like really nice people…_ I then sighed. _But still, when are we getting out of here?_

When I walked back to room, I saw Sayaka and Makoto talking to each other.

"Oh, um, hey Makoto. Hey Sayaka." I said as greeted them. "What are you two talking about?"

"Well, um…" Sayaka thought for a moment before answering. "Can I ask you something?"

"Um… sure?" I was a little confused by what she wanted to asked me.

She then dropped a question that I wasn't prepared for. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

This caught me off guard. "Huuuuuh?!" I felt like a blush spread on my face. "I mean like, no… And…"

"Oh, I see…" Sayaka then thought for a moment before asking. "Do you have a crush on someone?"

Then a thought ran across my mind and I blush even harder. "I mean… um… I don't know…" I suddenly run back into my room.

"Wait, Nepgear! Where are you going?!" Sayaka called out.

I didn't want to answer her, instead I immediately closed the door and locked it.

 _What…? I don't know what going on with me._ And that same thought cross my mind. _Why am I having these weird thoughts in my head?!_

I slowly calm down for a little bit. _I guess I'll sleep for now…_

I lied back down on my bed and sleep.


	12. Chapter 12: Nepgear’s Motive

As I slowly pulled myself out of bed, I felt a little bit restless. "Another sleepless night, huh?" I said to myself. "Maybe it was from yesterday…"

I felt a little blush appearing on my face. _Stop thinking about that!_ I scold myself.

As that thought crossed my mind, the sound of a doorbell ring in my room. I was a little bit confused on who would be at my door, so I opened it to see an energizing Taka standing firmly in front of the door.

"A fantastic morning, isn't it?!" Taka cheerfully said.

"Um, what are you doing here?" I tiredly asked.

But instead of answering, he replied with: "No matter how intensely the stormy seas may batter me, I will not fall as long as my feet are firmly planted! You agree, right?"

"Um, what are you talking about?" I asked with little confusion.

"And if you can't do it alone, just find someone to support you, and you can support them back!" Taka continued on with passion. "That's how you can overcome any storm!"

I just went full on silent on this since I had zero clue on what he's saying. But luckily, Taka explained himself. "I was thinking about it last night, and….I decided we all need to really come together. And that when I realized, every morning from now on, after the morning announcement, everyone should have breakfast together!"

_Huh, that is not a bad idea…_

"And now is the beginning of that fateful day!" Taka said with his usual passion. "Please head to the dining hall at your earliest convenience!"

And before I even said anything, Taka quickly walked away. I stood for a moment before saying to myself. "I guess I have to go to the dining hall."

When I walked into the dining hall, I saw that everyone was gathered at the big lunch table. "Everyone, thank you for making this time in your busy schedules to come together." Taka announced.

Leon just scoffed at his side of the table. "I didn't make time for shit. You dragged me here."

But Taka just ignored it. "I know I already mentioned this, but in order to get out of here, it is essential that we all cooperate with each other. And first, is this breakfast meeting to allow us to become friends and to build trust!" He began to get more passionate once again. "So from now on, let's all meet here in the dining hall every morning after the morning announcement!"

 _He seems really passionate about this…_ I thought to myself as I took my seat.

"Now then, let's eat!" With that, Taka sat back down on his chair, grabbing his plate.

"You w-want me to eat breakfast with other p-people?" Toko stuttered out. "I've never done that b-before. I'm not s-sure…."

"Yeah, it's been a while for me too." Leon stated.

Before anyone started talking, Junko asked. "Well anyways, Did anyone happen to come up with any clues."

And with that question, no one seemed to be completely silent about it.

"Seriously? Nothing at all?" Junko said in total disbelief. "Anything? It can be about how to get out, or who's doing this, nobody has anything?!"

"…You are going to die." Celeste stated all of the sudden.

"Huh?" Junko was, of course, shocked by that statement.

"If you can't stop yourself from showing weakness in front of others," Celeste explained rather coldly. "You will die."

"W-What the hell?" Junko exclaimed. "Don't even freaking joking about that!"

"I am not joking. Adaptability is survivability." Celeste repeated again. "Did I not say so? So you'd better hurry up and adapt to your new life here."

"Have you gone completely insane?" Junko questioned Celeste as she looked at her side of the table. "Adapt to my new life here? Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"E-Everyone! Please calm down!" I cut in. "Has anyone got a clue on who's behind this?"

_Wait, why am I saying this all of the sudden?_

"One thing I can tell you is who's behind all this." Hina declared. "Someone who's totally weird and messed up. Why else would we be trapped here in the first place?"

"Um, okay but…" I suddenly trailed off.

Then Chihiro suddenly spoke up. "Ummmm…"

I turned my head towards her. "What is it?"

"If you think in terms of people who are really abnormal or bizarre," She began explaining. "Do you think maybe the person responsible for all this could be a certain murderous fiend?"

_Murderous… fiend?_

This got everyone's attention. "A murderous fiend," Makoto repeated. "Chihiro, do you have any idea who might be behind all this?"

"Well, maybe." Chihiro confirmed. "I mean, I can't really be certain, but…."

"Certainty is not the concern right now!" Taka suddenly cut in. "I'll allow whatever remarks you may have!"

"O-Okay." Chihiro responded, but was a little bit startled. "Well, have you guys heard of Genocide Jack?"

That's when Makoto's eyes widened. "You mean that serial killer that's been in the news and all over the internet?"

_Genocide Jack? Serial killer? What are they—_

Then Byakuya cut in. "The monstrous villain who's murdered scores of victims in brutally bizarre fashions. The word 'bloodlust was left at each murder scene, written in the victim's own blood. Whoever it is, he's like a ghost. He strikes without warning, and disappears without a trace. And on the internet, they started calling him…." He then turns his head towards us. "Genocide Jack. That about covers it, I think."

_W-W-What?! There's a killer out there?!_

"They say he's claimed over a thousand victims." Hiro said with a disturbed look on his face.

"That's just an urban legend though, right?" Junko asked, also looking a bit disturbed. "I mean even like, ten people would be totally insane."

 _Over a thousand victims?!_ I suddenly feel a little freaked out. _Yeah this has to be an urban legend, right?_

"Anyway," Chihiro spoke up again. "Whoever Genocide Jack really is, he's obviously some kind of super crazy killer."

"And if he really is this 'ultimate' psycho, I wouldn't be surprised if he put together something like this." Mondo stated.

"But like I said, I can't be certain." Chihiro said as she reminded them. "I don't have any evidence or anything. It's just a thought."

"But if they're a killer, isn't that like a killer kind of a problem for us?!" Leon asked, feeling a little bit nervous.

"It's okay!" Hina stated. "Everything's absolutely, positively, one hundred percent without a doubt gonna be okay! Cuz help is gonna be here soon, I'm sure of it!"

"Huh? H-Help?" Toko spoke up.

"We've been stuck in here for a few days, right?" Hina asked. "Nobody's been able to contact us, so I'm sure they're getting worried, I bet they called the police already!"

Suddenly, an evil laugh was heard throughout the dining hall. And then, Monokuma appeared in front of the table. "The police? You're putting your faith in the police?!"

Several of us jumped or yelped, which includes me. "What are you doing here?!" Sakura demanded.

"You guys, seriously," Monokuma seems to ignore Sakura's demand. "Do you understand what role the police exist to fill? All they're good for is being a foil, playing against a villain or anti-hero or evil organization. The bad guys come along and destroy them, and that shows just how badass they really are. Are you sure you wanna rely on such an unreliable group of losers?" Then he started to tempt us. "I mean come on! If you really, REALLY wanna get out of here, all you gotta do is kill!"

Suddenly, Hiro started to laugh, drawing everyone's attention. "Why the hell are you laughing?" Leon questioned in bewilderment.

"I'm just impressed at the total commitment to this whole act." Hiro said, still smiling.

"...You're still going on about that?" Junko asked incredulously.

"So, mister serial killer psycho freak bastard….what the hell do you want?" Mondo growled.

All that Monokuma did was tilting his head in confusion. "Mr. Serialkillerpyschofreakbastard, huh? That's a pretty long name! German, maybe?"

"We know who you really are!" Mondo stated angrily.

Monokuma, however, just turned away in response. "Maybe if I just ignore him, he'll go away…." He murmured loudly to himself, like he's taunting Mondo.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, asshole!" Mondo shouted in anger.

Still ignoring him, Monokuma turned back to us. "Okay, okay, let's get back to business." He stated. "Your life here has already begun and a couple days have gone by, and nobody's killing anybody!" He then hung his head. "I thought all you kids were lazy and selfish, and here you are working together. But I'm totally bored."

Then Makoto glared at Monokuma. "There's nothing you can say that'll make us start killing each other…."

But before he could finish, Monokuma interrupted. "Wait, I think-yes! Ding ding ding! I got it!" He declared. "All the mystery ingredients are right here-right people, right place. So why hasn't anyone killed anyone, yet? That's what I couldn't understand. But I just realized there was one very important piece missing!"

"What are you…" I suddenly spoke up, feeling nervous.

"If you wanna know, I'll tell ya! It's a motive!" Monokuma declared as he giggled in glee. "It's so simple! I just have to give everyone a motive!"

"Motive? What the #^%* are you talking about?" Mondo growled.

Still ignoring him, Monokuma continued on. "Oh, by the way! There's something I want to show you guys!"

"Stop changing the goddamn subject!"

"I have a little video I'd like you all to see." And again, Monokuma ignored Mondo. "Oh, but don't worry. It's not some pervy 'adult' video or anything. Seriously, it's nothing like that!" He assured us. "It's a special video for each of you showing that's going on outside the school."

This got everyone's attention. "Outside of school…?" Makoto said. "What are you talking about?"

"Ooh, Master's important today! Why don't you just watch it and find out?" Monokuma then informed us. "You can go to the A/V room to watch the videos."

Kyoko nodded. "Good, then we can go watch the videos right now. But before we do that, I would like to know…." She then directed her eyes towards him. "What are you? Why would you do something like this? What do you want from us?"

Monokuma tilted his head. "What do I want from you?" He repeated. "Well, if you must know…." He then looked at us menacingly. "Despair. That's all."

A chill suddenly went down my spine. _D-Despair?_

But then the menacing aura cools down. "If you want to know more than that, you'll have to figure it out for yourselves. Do whatever you need to uncover the mystery hidden within this school. I won't try and stop you. Cuz to be honest, it's entertaining as heck watching you guys search so desperately for answers! So I guess I want some amusement, too."

And with that, he disappeared, laughing along the way. "He's gone," Sayaka said. "And once again, he left before we could find out anything useful."

"Really?" Kyoko questioned rhetorically. "I think we learned something very useful. He has no intention of standing in the way of our pursuit of the truth. Interesting."

"Perhaps," Sakura agreed. "But what about the videos he mentioned? I'm very curious to see what's on it."

"Same here! Okay, so….!" Mondo then scanned around the dining hall, until he put his gaze on me.

"Wait, Why are you…?" I started to say.

He grinned. Hey, Nepgear! Check this out for us, would ya?"

My eyes widen at the request. "But, why?!"

"Cuz you're the closest to the door!" Mondo answered. "That's the rule, right?"

"W-What the— Rule?!" I stuttered out

Mondo then sighed. "Hey, hey," He started mumbling. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" He then began shouting. "HEEEY! You see how passionately I'm begging you?! What's the big deal? Just check it out real quick!"

I thought for a moment. Then I answered shakily. "S-Sure…"

That made Mondo's anger disappear. Awesome, thanks! I owe ya one!"

"Then I'm coming too!" Makoto spoke up.

"Me too!" Sayaka declared. "It's not safe to walk around this place alone."

"Yeah, sure thing. Then we're countin' on the three of ya!" Mondo stated. "If anything happens, just yell and I'll come runnin'!"

We nodded before we walked out of the cafeteria. After walking a few feet away from the dining hall, Sayaka spoke. "I can't decide if Mondo is totally dependable or completely terrible." Sayaka admitted.

Then Makoto spoke up. "Yeah, I'd have to say he's kind of both."

I wanted to refute it but then didn't, since it was kinda true.

When we made our way to the A/V room, we found a cardboard box sitting on one of the video players. When we checked inside, our eyes widened.

"It's…" Makoto began before Sayaka finished the sentence. "...a bunch of DVDs." She then looked at each one of them "And each one has a label on it with someone's names."

"This must be the 'video for each of us' he mentioned." Makoto deduced.

Sayaka nodded in agreement. "I'd better go tell everyone!" With that, Sayaka ran out of the A/V room, leaving both of us alone. While I took one of the DVDs which had my name on it.

 _Should I look at mine real quick?_ I looked at Makoto, who was taking his out and putting in a DVD player while putting some headphones on. _I guess it won't hurt to try…_

I did the exact same thing as Makoto and when the screen turned on. It showed a purple haired girl wearing a white and purple parka dress sitting on a couch, just smiling happily and well… laughing.

 _Who is that?_ I thought to myself. _But for some reason, she seems familiar…_

I was smiling too since she was so familiar like she has been in my life this entire time. But then the scene switched to a destroyed couch, with no one in sight. My face turned from happiness to complete horror.

 _Where did she go…?_ I thought to myself. _What is going on…?_

Suddenly, Monokuma's voice spoke up. "Neptune, the older sister of Nepgear. She looks up to her older sister as an idol; a form of inspiration. But it seems like….something's happened to this sister's well-being! Oh boy, this is bad! What could have possibly happened to this sister's well-being?!"

Then the video switched to a sentence, saying "Look for the answer after graduation".

"N-Neptune…?" The words I muttered felt familiar to me. Suddenly tears flowed down my face as I remembered: I'm a CPU Candidate. My sister, as well as the other CPUs, were captured. We were fighting against CFW Magic and we lost that fight.

 _What is going on?_ I thought to myself. _Why am I here? Neptune! She's captured! Sis! I have to get out here! I need to get out of here! I need to save her!_

"Neptune!" I suddenly yelled out.


	13. Chapter 13: N-No… W-Why…?

“Neptune…”

Tears are still flowing down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe what I just saw.

_ What’s going on?  _ I thought to myself.  _ How did I get here? Why am I here? Please, I don’t anymore! What happened past when we were defeated by CFW Magic? _

“Makoto? Nepgear?” We both slightly turned our heads to see a concerned Sayaka at the door with everyone else. There are faces full of confusion.

“Wh-What’s going on?” Hina asked hesitantly.

I didn’t hear anything anymore, I instead grabbed the DVD and passed by everyone at the entrance of the A/V room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Taka asked me while he put his hand on my shoulder.

“Please…”

“Huh?” Taka looked confused for a second.

I then shrugged his hand off. “Please leave me alone…”

“Huh? Why are you—” 

“I said…'' I turned towards Taka with tears in my eyes. “Leave me alone!”

I then rushed off all the way up to my room with tears following down my eyes, not caring about people yelling at me to wait. When I finally reached my room, I locked my door and lay down in my bed.

“Neptune…” I looked at DVD as I reorganized my memories and that I remembered that:

**Flashback…**

_ “Um… are you my… um, sister?” I asked the purple haired girl in the white and purple parka. _

_ “Wha—?! Histy.” I saw her turned to the fairy called Histoire. “Who’s that hot girl you have with you? A new character?!” _

_ “Huh? What does that mean?” I asked her, tilting my head with confusion. _

_ “Her name is Nepgear and she is your younger sister.” Histoire introduced me to her. _

_ “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Nepgear.” I smiled awkwardly at her. “Um, I hope to be an acquaintance.” _

_ “Oh…my younger sister…” It took her a few seconds to realize something. “Say whaaat?” _

_ I then saw her freaking out over this before Histoire spoke up. _

_ “Get a hold of yourself, Neptune.” Histoire told her. “She was born from the power of Shares.” _

_ “Huh? I get what you mean but not that much…” Neptune said to Histoire. _

_ “With the wishes of the people, your Shares inflated and a new goddess was born.” Histoire explained to her. _

_ “Oh! Now I see!” Neptune’s face lit up. “Well it’s nice to meet you Nepgear. I’m Neptune, your older sister.” _

_ She took my hand and dragged me with her. _

_ “Wait, where are you taking me?!” I cried out. _

_ “I can’t wait for Iffy and Compa to see you!” Neptune was smiling all the way. _

_ “Wait, who’s that?!” _

When I met her friends, IF and Compa, they mistaken me for being the older sister but Neptune corrected them. And after a while, we became friends. And when I observed Neptune even more, I started to look up to her. She was strong, brave, and everything I never was. 

…

My memories of the time we spent together was getting a little hazy but I remembered when we all went out for a picnic with IF and Compa and Histoire yelled at Neptune for avoiding her CPU duties. And sometimes I remembered helping doing some quests while laughing it off when we got home, but…

_ “Hey, where are we going, Neptune?” _

_ “We’re going to meet the rest of the CPUs.” I remembered Neptune saying. _

_ “But, why?” I asked her. _

_ “Because I feel like you’re ready to have your first CPU mission.” She smiled at me. You remembered ASIC, right?” _

_ I nodded my head while Neptune smiled. _

_ “Well, the four felons are guarding Gamindustri Graveyard. So let’s go and beat them!” Neptune then transformed and smiled with confidence. “Are you ready?” _

_ I too transformed and tried to match Neptune’s confident smile. “I’m ready!” _

But, in the end, we lost to CFW Magic and in turn got captured for who knows how long. So then, why?

…

Why…?

…

I felt my tears running down my cheeks.

…

“Why can’t I remember anything after that?” I muttered to myself. “I should remember something but…”

I heard my doorbell ring, I slowly stood up and looked at my door.

_ Who’s that?  _ I thought to myself as I walked over answered it.

It was Makoto looking really worried and well awkward.

“H-Hey, Makoto.” I greeted him with an awkward smile.

“Hey, Nepgear.” He greeted me back with the same awkward tone.

We both didn’t talk for a while before Makoto spoke up.

“Are you okay, Nepgear?” He asked me.

“Um,” I thought for a little bit.  _ I can’t tell him about what I remember. He will be really confused. _

“Well, I just remembered someone from my past.” I told him.

Makoto looked really surprised by this. “Really?! Who?”

“Um, well…” I stood there very silently. “It was my sister.”

Makoto looked confused for a minute. “Your sister?”

I nodded my head as confirmation. “Yes, my older sister… She has been captured…”

Then his eyes widened in shock. “Monokuma took your sister away from you?!”

I looked down to the floor. “Y-Yes…”

We both fell silent for a moment before Makoto spoke up again.

“If you need someone to lean on, then you can count on me.” Makoto said with determination in his eyes. “So then, don’t give up hope! We will get help out there!”

_ It sounds kinda motivating…  _ I thought to myself as I slowly looked up.  _ I wish I had something like that… _

“T-Thank you, Makoto…” I smiled shyly. “I’ll try believing in that…”

“No worries, Nepgear.” Makoto said as scratches the back of his head.

“Well, um, let’s go to sleep for now.” I told Makoto. “Goodnight, Makoto.”

“Yeah, goodnight Nepgear.” He said as I closed the door on him.

When I closed the door, I then realized something…

_ Wait, can’t I just transformed and blasted the wall open?  _ I thought to myself.  _ Let me try that now… _

I then closed my eyes, trying to feel the Shares inside me, but…

_ Nothing…  _ I thought in disappointment.  _ I can feel my Shares but it felt like I couldn’t reach it… _

I lay down on my bed and looked at the ceiling.

_ Please, Neptune…  _ I thought to myself.  _ Please be safe… _

I then closed my eyes and fell asleep.

**Meanwhile…**

An older, short purple haired girl looked up to the sky.

“Hey, what are you doing?” A black, twin tailed haired girl looked at her in confusion.

Then the purple haired girl looked back to the girl and said. 

“It’s nothing, Noire…”

Noire then just sighed. “Seriously Neptune, at least try to stay focused before you get caught!”

Neptune just smiled. “C’mon Noire! You know I’m not like that!”

“Yeah, whatever…” Noire muttered. “It’s not like I’m following you just because you’re my friend or anything!”

“Yeah, whatever Lonely Heart!” She smiled as took out her katana. “Either way, let’s hunt for some food for everyone else…”

Noire then smiled and walked along with Neptune, who looked back.

_ I hope you’re doing okay, Nepgear…  _ Neptune thought.  _ Please be safe… _

**Back with Nepgear…**

When it was morning, both me and Makoto made our way to the dining hall. When we got there, Hina, Sakura, Chihiro, and Taka greeted us. After waiting for a while, Mondo, Junko, and Hifumi came in and greeted us. And finally, Kyoko, Celeste, Toko, Leon, and Hiro were the last to appear. But then, we all noticed something…

"Wait, aren't we still missing some people?" Taka questioned.

"Yeah, Sayaka and Byakuya aren't here yet." Hina confirmed.

_ They’re late? Well, I can understand Byakuya but Sayaka would be late for no reason, right? _

Soon enough, Byakuya arrived. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

“Hey man!” Mondo greeted. “Have you seen Sayaka?”

Then Byakuya explained. "Why would I have? I just came straight from my room to here."

“Did she forget about our breakfast meeting?” Hifumi asked.

“I got the sense she always has her stuff together…” Kyoko spoke up.

I felt an uneasiness creeping into my mind. I turn to Makoto who seems to feel the same way. Then we both stood up from our chair. “I-I need to go.” Makoto told everyone. “I have to go check on her!”

He then ran out the dining hall while I quickly followed. We both headed to the room with Sayaka’s name on and burst in. When we did, we saw that the room was completely destroyed and demolished.

“W-What…?” I muttered to myself.

We both quickly looked around, trying to find any signs of Sayaka until we spotted the bathroom door. "The bathroom. I'd better go take a look." Makoto went inside the bathroom while I followed him as I closed my eyes.

_ Please don’t tell me what I think it is… Please… Please… Ple…ase…! _

What we saw in front of us was Sayaka Maizono dead. Our eyes widen in shock and horror with the site. We didn’t notice that we’re both screaming and didn’t stop and then…

We blacked out…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is all for now! And holy moly that was a lot of stuff I wrote! If you don’t know the “Meanwhile…” was, it’s the future of what happens in PurpleDimension. Either way, Please Review and Stay Safe!


	14. Chapter 14: First Investigation Start! (Part 1)

“Mmh…?”

I slowly woke up, I was staring at a huge ceiling. And when I slowly stood up, I saw people looking at me.

“Ah! You’re awake! Finally! Are you okay?” Hina asked me in concern.

I looked around to see that everyone was there, including Makoto who looked shaken. And then the memories of Sayaka’s dead body rushing back and I nearly threw up.

“H-Hey, are you okay?!” Hina asked again but this time startled.

“She’s… dead… Sayaka… is dead…” I slowly spoke with a horrified expression as I slowly looked up to the group. “Why…? Why are we here at a time like this?”

Then Kyoko spoke up. “None of us want to be here right now either.”

“Then… why?” I asked the group.

"Sh-Shouldn't it be obvious? Monok-kuma," Toko answered with a terrified look on her face. "He told us all to c-come here."

"Well, hold on! Don't talk like that. We all protested it!" Taka stated, also looking horrified. "I mean, we remember the terrible price Sayaka had to pay. B-But….!”

Then Kyoko interrupted him. "I'm the one who convinced them to come. Right now, we need to do whatever he says. We're his prisoners, right? It's not a good idea to defy him without reason. We don't need to make any more sacrifices than we already have."

Then Makoto spoke up. “But why should we listen to anything he says?!” A scowl appeared on his face. “It’s obvious he’s the one who killed Sayaka!”

That when Monokuma suddenly appeared. “I would never do that!” He denied. “If you can believe anything, you can believe that!”

Then Leon growled with anger. “He’s here again…”

"Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere." Monokuma stated. "I can promise you, I won't do anything that goes against the purpose of your school life here. I'm famous at safari parks throughout the world for following the 'Bear-Times-One' rule!"

I felt anger and sorrow flowing in my mind. All I could do was clenching my hand in anger.

“Then… who did it?” Chihiro asked fearfully. “Who killed her?”

“You already know the answer!” Monokuma declared. "The one who killed her is….one of you!"

Everyone fell silent at this revelation. I just felt sorrow inside my heart.  _ One of us killed her… Why…? Why would anyone do that? _

Monokuma tilted his head. "Hmm? What's the matter? You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling Gun! Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Sayaka so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!"

“Y-You’re lying… right?” Hifumi spoke up shakily.

“Of course he’s lying!” Makoto exclaimed. “I’m telling you, he killed her!”

_ Please Makoto… I know you can’t accept it but…  _ I thought sadly.

Monokuma then refuted his claims again. "Nope, sorry. One of you is now a bona fide killer. If they wanted to, the one who did it could testify to that little fact."

“What…?”

We all looked at each other with a combination of fear, suspicion, and confusion.

Everyone started to talk among themselves until Byakuya spoke up.

"That's enough. Before we do anything else, I'd like to confirm something with the stuffed animal here." Byakuya then turned to Monokuma. "If one of us really did kill her, that person gets to graduate from the school, right?"

Monokuma just looked confused. “Huh…?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Byakuya demanded. "That's what you said, isn't it?! If you kill someone, you get to leave!"

A few moments of silence later, Monokuma started to giggle and then it became a full blown evil laugh.

Then Leon went pale. “Why are you laughing?!”

Then after a few more giggles, Monokuma answered. "It's cuz….naive. You're just so naive! You think it's really that easy? That you can just kill someone and waltz on outta here?! You're super naive! Devilishly naive! HELLISHLY NAIVE! No, no, no, the real thing has just begun."

“W-What…?” I felt a chill running down my spine.

“The… real thing?” Makoto asked.

“Are you ready?”Monokuma asked the group. "Allow me to explain the second part of the rule regarding graduation! Just like I explained before, you must kill someone if you want to leave. However, even if you do that, there's still one more part to the agreement you have to uphold, remember?"

"You are referring to rule number six of the school regulations.” Celeste answered. “If you are the 'blackened' that committed the murder, you can't be found out by the other students. That is what you're talking about, is it not?"

“Bingo!” Monokuma confirmed excitedly. “It is not enough to just kill someone. You have to actually get away with it! Which naturally means you need a system in place to assess whether or not it's been gotten away with! So, a certain amount of time after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!"

_ A class… trial?  _ I thought with confusion.

"Yup! It'll begin a few hours after the murder!" Monokuma stated. "Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will all engage in one debate showdown!"

He then explained what it was which is that the person has to present their argument about who they think is the blackened. The outcome decided by the popular vote. If we choose correctly, they alone get punished. But if we choose the wrong one, the one who got away with the survives while the rest of us gets punished. But…

“What do you mean by punishment?” I asked Monokuma.

That is when he dropped another bomb on us. "Oh! Well, to put it simply, it’s execution!”

My eyes widen in shock and fear. “W-What…?! You mean…”

Then Monokuma appeared in front of my face to which I fell backwards to the the floor.

"Execution is….execution. Ex-e-cution!" Monokuma emphasized. "Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poisonous gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper plane in a hurricane!" Then he jump away from me.

We were completely shock and well… pale. No one spoke up for a while, trying to process what we just heard, until Monokuma spoke up again.

“It's basically what the outside world calls a 'lay judge' system, or an inquisition type thing!" Monokuma explained. "Which means you'll be deciding who you think the killer is. But judge carefully, cause all of your lives are on the line!" He then pulled out a E-handbook. "Okay, let me just add the rule I just described to your handbook. Make sure to keep it in mind!"

When he was finally finished, Junko suddenly spoke up and she was angry by this. "W-Wait, hold on a second! You're freaking insane, you know that?!"

Monokuma just responded with: “Hmm?”

"A class trial? What the hell is that?!" She exclaimed. "I don't want anything to do with it!"

Monokuma just tilted his head. "Why not?" 

"Whaddya mean, why not?!” Junko said angrily. “Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone?!"

“What?!” Monokuma exclaimed. "Are you say saying you're not gonna participate in the trial?! Only punishment awaits such blasphemy!"

“What?” This took Junko aback. “Punishment?”

Monokuma then thought for a moment. "I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark, scary prison or something!"

“Shut the hell up!” Junko fired back. "Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!"

"Don't be so selfish!" Monokuma growled.

"You're the one being selfish!" Junko countered back. "Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me!"

All I could feel is worry for Junko. I know she might be safe but in the back of my mind, I felt afraid.

Then Monokuma start trembling. “The evil standing before me, I’m trembling in fear!” He then stop trembling and brought out his claws. "But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end! If you really want to get out of here, you'll have to go through me first!" He then waddle his way towards Junko.

I could be laughing at this if I wasn’t feeling terrified by now. And that when…

Junko suddenly stepped on Monokuma with her boot.

“Are you enjoying yourself now?” Junko asked.

“Are you?” Monokuma asked back.

“Huh?”

"Violence against the Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed." He said very menacingly. "You've violated a school regulation…."

I didn’t want to wait for what was going to happen. I tried to step forward but…

_ I can’t move…!  _ I tried to move my legs but I can’t.  _ Move…! Move…! _

"I invoke the mighty summoning spell!” He chanted. “Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!"

That when I heard several whooshing sounds. And my eyes widened in horror at what I saw.

Junko was pierced with spears with a horrified look on her face. I didn’t hear what she said and then she… died instantly…

I didn’t hear anything from that point. I collapsed to my knees and at that point, I couldn’t hear that everyone was freaking out. I felt I was in the center of the world.

_ She was… right there in front of me… _

_ I couldn’t move… couldn’t speak… I was too terrified to move… _

_ … _

_ I failed… I failed as a CPU Candidate… I couldn’t protect others… I couldn’t… _

Then I felt a shake on my shoulder and I slowly looked up.

I saw that Kyoko was looking at me with a stern look in her eyes.

“Now’s no time to wallow in your depression.” Kyoko stated as she then looked at everyone. "The worst thing we can do right now is lose all faith in each other. That would lead to the same disastrous result as having total faith in everyone else."

“Huh?” Leon looked at her in confusion.

“Cooperation is absolutely key at this point." Kyoko told everyone. "Who you decide to trust or not trust is, of course, up to you."

Then Celeste spoke up. "Continuing to think about and talk about the deceased certainly isn't going to help anything."

This angered Hina. “S-Saying stuff like that is just—!”

Then Celeste interrupted her. "How many times have I told you? Anyone who can't adapt….will die. Death is the only thing awaiting those who are unable or unwilling to adapt. If that happens, you only have yourself to blame."

I then glared at her while Hina shouted out in anger. "What an awful thing to say! Especially after what's happened!"

Kyoto then interrupted both of them. "Right now, exposing the killer is the most important thing. Because if we don't, we're all going to die here."

“…She’s right.” Byakuya stated. "We need to begin our search right away."

"Either way, we can't run away from the situation,” Sakura spoke up. “So we have no choice but to move forward."

Hina then sighed in reluctance. "We just hafta do it, I guess…. What other choice do we have?"

“No way in hell am I letting someone kill me!” I heard Leon speak up in anger. "Alright, dammit! Let's do this!"

As everyone encouraged themselves to do this, I slowly stood up and looked at them with awe.  _ I don’t have the same confidence as everyone else…  _ I thought to myself.  _ Can I really be brave? Just like these people?  _

I thought back to Sayaka.  _ Sayaka… we will find who killed you… _

I then turned back to Junko.  _ Rest well, Junko… _

* * *

After a few minutes of talking, we decided to secure the crime scene so that nobody would disturb it, which Mondo and Sakura suggested doing. Then I looked at the Monokuma file which Kyoko mentioned that has information on the body which was sent to us on our e-Handbook and that’s when Celeste said something that shocked me.

"Notice anything interesting about where Sayaka died?” She showed us the Monokuma file. “She died in Makoto's dorm."

Several eyes widened in surprise and Hina also checked it too. "Wh-? She's right!"

Hifumi then gasped in horror. "Then, could it be….?!"

Everyone’s eyes, except mine, turned towards Makoto to which he protested against it. "H-Hold for a second! You've got it all wrong! F-For just one night, I….I traded rooms with her. I did it because….she was afraid."

Toko didn’t believe him. "Y-You expect us to b-believe that? Just tell us the t-truth!"

I glared angrily.  _ You think that he did it?  _

"Let's stop talking, for now." Kyoko spoke up. "We need to begin our investigation soon. At this point, we should all split up. We need to get to the bottom of this and find out who killed Sayaka. We'll have to collect clues to form a foundation, then construct an argument to come to a final decision. If we get this wrong….well, do I really have to say any more?"

“I’d rather you didn’t, no,” Hifumi moaned.

Kyoko then turned to the exit. "Everyone pray for good luck." And then she left the gym in a hurry.

Then Byakuya left too, as well as Mondo, who said threatening words, and Sakura. Leaving the rest of us here.

That’s when Hina spoke up. "But, mean, we're not detectives or anything, y'know? And we're gonna investigate a murder? How do we even do something like that?"

"We don't r-really have to do anything in p-particular." Toko spoke up. "W-We already know who k-killed Sayaka."

"What are you implying?" Makoto questioned.

"It was y-you." Toko accused, pointing at Makoto.

Then Makoto stepped forward. “I’m telling you, it wasn’t me!”

When he did that, Toko suddenly freaked out. "D-Don't come any c-closer! Are you g-gonna kill me next?!"

A bunch of people were talking and that I heard that Toko is afraid of blood while I just had enough.

“N-No, that’s wrong…” I spoke up. “There’s no way he could have done it…”

“H-Huh? H-He did kill Sayaka!” Toko said.

“But we can’t just point fingers just because of one simple thing.” I refuted.

“Hmph, Wh-Whatever…” Toko looked down. “Th-That’s not going to ch-change anything…”

After that, she left, as well as everyone else who looked at Makoto with suspicion leaving me and Makoto as well as a few of us inside.

“Makoto…” I spoke to him. “There’s no way that you could have killed her…”

“Yeah!” Makoto agreed. “There’s no way I’m the killer!”

_ There is no way Makoto could have killed Sayaka…  _ I thought to myself.  _ I will not believe it! I am going to prove that Makoto is not in the wrong! If they get it wrong, we all die! _

And then I suddenly heard something…

_ What is this…  _ I thought as I listened to it.  _ BGM?! _

I then ignored it and followed Makoto to the Monokuma File.

Makoto then picked up the Monokuma File on the floor and read it out loud. "The victim was Sayaka Maizono. The time of death is estimated to be around 1:30 a.m. The body was discovered in Makoto's dorm, in the dormitory. All evidence suggests that the death took place in the bathroom. The cause of death was a stab wound to the abdomen. There was also an injury to her right wrist. Specifically, the wrist appears to have suffered a fracture."

_ That is very detailed…  _ I thought to myself.  _ Either way, we might be able to use it… _

**“Monokuma File No. 1” has been added to the Truth Bullets!**

_ What was that?!  _ I thought to myself.  _ It must have been my e-Handbook. _

I then followed him to his room where I suggested him this:

“Let’s split up and search for clues!” I told him.

“Why?” He asked me as he tilted his head.

“I’m going to help out to prove that you’re innocent because I know that you are!” I answered.

He then thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright then, good luck Nepgear.”

I smiled at him. “Good luck to you too, Makoto.” And then, Makoto went inside his room.

I stood there for a few seconds before realizing something.

_ Where do I even start?!  _ I thought to myself as I started to freak out before I notice something

The nameplates on the door for Makoto’s room says Sayaka and the nameplate on the door for Sayaka’s door says Makoto.

_ What the goodness?! Someone switch the nameplates?!  _ I thought to myself.  _ But who… and why? _

**“Dorm Nameplates” has been added to the Truth Bullet!**

_ Wait… the Monokuma File said that she died from a stab wound…  _ I thought to myself.  _ Maybe a knife from the kitchen… Let’s go check to make sure… _

I walked over to the dining hall to which Hina was sitting at one of the tables. 

“Hina…are investigating the dining hall?” I asked her.

She shook her head “Oh, no. I'm just taking a break. Actually, I've been taking a break since we started."

“Oh…um…okay…”

"This is all a first for me, ya know?" Hina sighed. "I don't have the first clue what I should be doing."

“Yeah…” I agreed with her.

"And I dunno why, but being in the dining hall helps me calm." Hina continued on. "So I know I shouldn't, but I've been kinda….hanging around here."

She then muttered something. "To tell you the truth…. I was doing the same thing last night, when Sayaka was killed…."

After that, I went to the kitchen to confirm my suspicion and saw that one of the kitchen knives was missing.  _ So one of them was missing…  _ I thought to myself.  _ But the better question is who took it. Maybe someone knows who took it… _

**“Kitchen Knife Set” has been added to the Truth Bullets!**

When I went out of the kitchen, I went back to Hina. “Hey, um,” I suddenly grabbed Hina’s attention. “Did you notice that one of the knives was missing?”

"Yeah, weird huh?" Hina confirmed for me. "I thought it was kinda strange, a knife just disappearing like that."

“…And it wasn’t missing from the beginning?” I questioned her.

Hina then shook her head. "Nope. Last I remember, they were all lined up in a nice, neat row."

“Huh, I see…” I thought for a moment before asking. “When did you notice it was missing?”

Hina then began to explain. “Well, I went to go get some tea from the kitchen last night, and all the knives were still there. But when I finished my tea and went back into the kitchen to wash my glass, one of the knives were gone."

My eyes widen slightly at this explanation. “So the knife disappeared while you were drinking your tea?”

Hina then nodded. “Yeah…”

“And you didn’t see Makoto, right?” I asked her.

“Well, no…” She answered

_ So Makoto couldn’t have taken it!  _ I thought to myself.  _ If he did take it, he would have been spotted by Hina! _

**“Hina’s Account” has been added to the Truth Bullets!**

“Hey, by the way,” Hina spoke up, grabbing my attention. “Did Makoto really kill Sayaka?”

“W-What the—?!” I exclaimed out loud. “No! There’s no way he could have done it!” Hina, however, had little bit of doubt on her face. “Hina… do you really think he killed her?”

“Well,” Hina put her finger on her chin. "She was killed in his room, right? So, I mean…. They were supposed to be friends, as well as you, right? But he stilled killed her….on the other hand, two people becoming good friends, then one killing the other is a classic drama setup. So when you consider everything together…." She looked down, utterly confused and depressed. “…I honestly have no idea.”

I stayed silent for a moment before shaking my head and leaving the dining hall.

_ I have to find more evidence…  _ I thought to myself.  _ But where would that be? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is all for now! This investigation will become a two parter since it would hard to put it in all of it in a single chapter. Either way, Please Review and Stay Safe!


	15. Chapter 15: First Investigation Start! (Part 2)

I didn’t have much leads so I kept asking around if anyone had any clues on this case. When I asked Celeste, she suggested I should go to the trash room to find if someone discarded any evidence. I asked her why she can’t go there and she simply told me that she can’t deal with any filth and she would rather die than to go there.

When I went over to the trash room, there was a sturdy gate in front of it.

_ So this is the trash room…  _ I thought to myself as I looked at the gate.  _ There is no way I can pass through this… _

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared in front of me. “It’s the end of the line.”

“Hey, um, Monokuma? How do I get this open?” I asked him.

"No, no, no! No entry beyond this point!" Monokuma announced. "Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

“Um, what…?”

He then repeated the same phrase again. "No, no, no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

“Wait, who’s the person on cleaning duty?” I asked him, trying not to get annoyed.

"No, no, no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

_ I’m just going to ask around again…  _ Then I looked at Monokuma again.  _ An automatic voice recorder… Makes me want to look at it closer… _

"No, no, no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

_ Actually, nevermind… _

After asking around, I came across Byakuya, Hifumi, and Leon in the hallway of the dorm rooms.

“Hey, Hifumi?” I spoke up, grabbing Hifumi’s attention. “Do you know who’s on cleaning duty?”

"Cleaning duty? As a matter of fact, that's me. Why do you ask?" Hifumi asked. "It just so happens Monokuma talked to me yesterday and asked me to take care of it. Without someone on cleaning duty, the school would be flooded with trash in no time. So I formally applied for the position!" He explained.

_ So he’s taking care of cleaning duty… _

“I was gonna start this morning, but after what happened, I haven't had a chance to get started yet."

“Hey, so you can open the gate in front of the trash room?” I asked him.

“Of course!” Hifumi answered. "It's my job to gather up all the garbage and toss it in the trash room. And to do that, they gave me the key to the trash room gate!"

_ Why am I getting a feeling that he’s suspicious of something other than murder…  _ I thought to myself.  _ It’s probably just nothing, right? _

“But we’re supposed to rotate once a week, so eventually it will be Mr. Naegi’s turn.” He told me.

“Okay, I see now…” I agreed with him.

“Wait, hold on…” Byakuya then gave it some thought. “You need a key to get in the trash room? And only the person on cleaning duty has access to the key?” 

“Yeah…?”

“So then what’s the point of going to all the trouble?” He asked us. “Why not just leave the trash room open all the time so we can all throw things out whenever we want?”

“That does seem convenient…” 

"Actually…." He then thought for a moment before smirking. "That must be why. If anyone could go in and out the trash room whenever they wanted, then destroying the evidence would be easy. The thrill would disappear, and things would become boring.”

“T-Thrill…?! B-Boring?!” The way he said that sounds really chilling.

“Anyway, more important than that,” Leon then looked at Hifumi accusingly. "Hey fatty! Why'd you want the cleaning gig, anyway?!"

Hifumi was startled by Leon’s question. "I-I just decided to volunteer for something I knew no one else would wanna do. What's the big deal?!”

“Liar! I know why you did it!” Leon still looked at him accusingly. “You wanna dig through the girls' trash! Looking for….y'know….and poking around at it!”

“W-W-What?!?” I was shocked by this before also looking at Hifumi as well. “Don’t tell me you…”

“What are you talking about?!” Hifumi denied. “All my love is for 2D!”

“But there’s all kinds of trash diggers like that!” Leon fired back. “Maybe you'll get tired of 2D, and then turn to—”

“I would NEVER get tired of 2D!” Hifumi declared. “After spending a significant amount of time comparing 2D and 3D, I voluntarily chose 2D! The only thing 3D is good for is to shower love and affection on 2D!...Oh, and PVC figures!”

_ Why does this remind me of someone? _

Leon just looked disturbed. "How are you not totally embarrassed to say stuff like that?!"

But Byakuya just sighed before speaking up. “If you're so worried about Hifumi's questionable morality, there's a very easy solution.” He told Leon. “Whenever a guy has cleaning duty, Sakura can accompany them, from picking up trash to disposing of it.”

Hifumi just looked absolutely shocked by this. “Whaaat?!”

Byakuya then turned his attention towards Hifumi. “If you're as innocent as you claim, where's the harm in it?”

Hifumi then looked like he was defeated. “Kh—! That’s not how it’s supposed to—!”

I stared at him really suspiciously before just shrugging it off. 

_ We have no time for that! We need to investigate now! _

“So, um, anyways,” I spoke up, trying to get back on topic. Hifumi, since you're on cleaning duty, can I ask you a favor?”

"What, so now you suddenly want to join my party?" Hifumi asked. "Sorry but you haven't triggered that flag yet. I mean, you haven't helped me recover from a past trauma, or save a village, or beat a boss….."

_ Why do I feel like Neptune would say this?  _ I sweatdropped.  _ But more importantly…! _

“No, I just want to get into the trash room and look around.” I told him.

“Oh, okay!”

_ That was… pretty easy… _

I followed Hifumi back into the trash room and when finally got to the gate…

“You'd like me to open the gate, wouldn't you?" Hifumi asked. He then let out a small laugh. "You know, when I look at it, it makes me think….they said he killed his wife. He learned how to get by on the inside, but never stopped dreaming. Get busy livin' or busy dyin', he said. So him and Rita, they found themselves a way out….”

_ I have zero clue on what he means… _

“Can you please get this gate open?” I pleaded to him.

“Okie dokie!” Hifumi responded. “Leave it to me!” Hifumi then pulled out the key and used it to flip the switch next to the gate. Soon enough, the gates open.

When we walked into the trash room, I saw that the incinerator turned on.

_ The incinerator is all the way in the back and it’s a good thirty feet from the gate…  _ I thought of what is going. 

Hifumi then spoke up. “That’s strange…”

“What’s strange?” I asked Hifumi.

“Someone turn the incinerator on!” Hifumi yelled in shock. "Very strange….I'm quite certain it was off the last time I was down here. Perhaps it was the work of a fairy…."

I then look at Hifumi with shock. “Do you realize what you just said?”

“Huh? The fairy…?”

“No!” I exclaimed. “You said the last time you were here, the incinerator was off.”

“Ah, yes…” Hifumi confirmed. “About that there can be no mistake. If I've got one thing going for me, it's my memory! Yesterday, as soon as I was appointed, I came down to check the place out. It definitely wasn't on at the time and I haven't been back to the trash room as well. And also, since I'm the only one who has the key to open the gate, it should be impossible for the incinerator to be on. And yet….”

_ So someone was able to switch on the incinerator without opening the gate…  _ I thought to myself.  _ But… who or what could have done it? _

**“Incinerator” was added to the Truth Bullets!**

The next thing I saw a burnt piece of fabric that belonged to a buttoned-up shirt and a broken shard of glass.

_ The burnt piece of fabric is covered in blood!  _ I looked at it in shock.  _ It must have been Sayaka’s blood… But who put this here? _

**“Burnt Shirt Piece” has been added to the Truth Bullets!**

The next thing I noticed was a broken shard of glass that looked like it could form the shape of a ball.

_ Those glass shards could form a glass that could fit in the palm of your hand…  _ I thought to myself.  _ But who would own this kind of thing? _

**“Glass Shards” was added to the Truth Bullets!**

“This is strange… How very strange…” I heard Hifumi mutter to himself. “The glass shards and burnt clothes weren’t here…”

_ I’m just going to ignore him…  _ I deadpanned as I left Hifumi to go ask around about the glass shards. When I went to the gym, Hiro was still freaking out.

“No, no, no, no, no! I gotta get outta here!” Hiro cried out in distress. “Gotta get out now! I've had enough! Gotta break free!”

“Um, Hiro?” I spoke up a little louder as I snapped him out of panic. 

“Huh? Nepgear, what are you doing here?” What…?” Hiro looked really confused.

I then showed him a picture of the glass shards on my e-Handbook. “Does this look familiar to you?”

"Ahhh!" Hiro yelped in shock. "That's my crystal ball! But….it's all smashed! What the hell…..?” Hiro then explained himself. “I-I only bought it cuz the guy said it was blessed! He said it was unbreakable! So….how did it break?” Then a sudden realization hit him. “Was it actually made of glass?! And not crystal?! Did that guy totally dupe me?! He said it belonged to the pillars of history….Genghis Khan, George Washington, Napoleon….he said whoever had the ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS?!”

“But to put that aside.” I spoke up. “So you can say that this is yours, right?”

“Yeah, that's mine for sure.” Hiro confirmed. “I prolly forgot it in the laundry room last night. Someone musta came by and snatched it.”

_ So he left it in the laundry room…  _ I thought to myself.  _ But what would they use it for? Could you throw it and…  _ I then immediately shut that thought off.  _ I can’t suspect anyone yet… _

**“Shattered Crystal Ball” has been updated in the Truth Bullets!**

“Thanks Hiro,” I thanked him then asked. “So how much do you pay for it?”

"Everything I saved up from fortune-telling for two full years." Hiro answered. "Came out to be like….a million."

“A m-million?!”

“That’s pretty cheap, actually.” Hiro stated. “I mean, considering it gives you the power to control the world….”

_ Seriously…  _ I deadpanned at him.  _ I kinda don’t feel bad for him… _

Suddenly the school bell rang. Soon after, the monitor turns on revealing Monokuma. "Erm, so, ah….I'm getting tired of waiting." He stated. "What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited, class trial!" Then he started explaining. “Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Please go through the large red door on the 1st floor of the school!" He let out his usual giggle. "See you soon!” And then the monitor turned off.

“The red door on the first floor…” I repeated to myself. “I have to go there… To prove my friend’s innocence.”

I then walked to the red door and saw everyone near the elevator and then we waited until Makoto was the last to come here. “You're late, Makoto!” Taka exclaimed. “We've all been waiting for you!”

“Hmph. I bet y-you were afraid you would be discovered as th-the murderer you are.” Toko said as I glared at her.

“Let's not jump to conclusions just yet!” Taka stated. “Save that for the class trial!” He then looked at Makoto accusingly. “There we can all reveal the details of Makoto's crimes!”

_ I know Makoto didn’t do it…  _ I thought to myself.  _ If he didn’t do it, then who did?  _

Then the monitor turned on, revealing Monokuma. “Is everyone here? Okay then,” He then began the next set of instructions. “Please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the room where all your fates will be decided." He giggled once more. "I'll meet you all down there and don't take too long! I'll be waiting….” And then the monitor turned off.

After a while, Sakura was first to board it and followed by Celeste. Slowly, everyone started going into the elevator. But me, Makoto, and Kyoko stood back.

“Are you both scared?” Kyoko asked us.

“Um, n-no…” I answered as I shook my head.

Makoto also shook his head. “Scared isn't quite right….”

“I said it before, but it's up to you to uncover the mysteries surrounding the case yourself.” Kyoko told him as he walked to the elevator. “If you don't, you'll never come to grips with the truth.”

After a few moments, me and Makoto walked into the elevator. And as soon as we entered, the door behind him closed and the steel box descended downward.

As it slowly descended down to the basement, I closed my eyes to calm myself. When it finally stopped, the elevator opened its doors.

We were all met with a royalty looking room with seventeen podiums in the middle shaped like a circle. And then an evil laughter entered the room. “You've finally arrived!”

We all looked to the directions of that laughter to see Monokuma sitting on a throne. “What do you think? Doesn't it feel like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie, set, right?!”

“Not even close.” Mondo stated. “It’s total &#%$.”

“Okay, okay,” Monokuma ignored that insult. “Everyone find your podiums and stand there! Hurry up now, hurry up!”

As I took my place to the left of Makoto, I kept thinking to myself.  _ This is the moment I have to fight… Not with swords… Not with magic… But with knowledge… I want to find the truth… No, I need to find the truth! In order to live another day… We will have to— _

_ Wait a minute… _

_ Why am I monologuing?!  _

**Nepgear has mastered the "Long-winded Monologue" Affinity!**

_ Again?!  _ I thought to myself with shock before closing my eyes again.  _ E-Either way, please Neptune… wherever you are… Please give me strength… Give me courage… Because… _

I opened my eyes in determination. 

_ I can’t run away now! _

**MPBL Affinity has been activated!**

**Effect-**

**Confidence Level: 50%**

**Influence Level: 30%**

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is all for now! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Merry Christmas to you all! Either way, Please Review and Stay Safe!


	16. Chapter 16: First Trial Start! (Part 1)

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results." Monokuma began explaining. "If you can figure out 'whodunnit', then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one, then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!"

“And the killer really is one of us, right?” Makoto asked.

“Of course!” Monokuma said very cheerfully.

“Okay then,” Taka spoke up. “Everyone close your eyes, and whoever did it, raise your hand!”

_ I don’t think anyone would fall for that.  _ I deadpanned.

Mondo then groaned. “Don't be a goddamn idiot. Why the hell would they raise their hand?”

“Before we move on and start the trial, can I ask a question real quick?” Kyoko asked. “What’s going on….those pictures?”

I look over to what Kyoko was talking about and…  _ Those are the pictures… of Sayaka and Junko… _

“I'd feel awful if they got left out just because they died.” Monokuma answered. “Friendship penetrates even death's barriers!”

“Friendship… penetrates?” Hifumi repeated.

_ Ehhh?! What does he mean by that?! _

“Okay,” Celeste suddenly spoke up. “But what about that other empty seat? There were only sixteen of us to begin with, so why are there seventeen seats?”

“Oh, no reason.” Monokuma answered. “It’s just that our little courtroom here can technically fit seventeen people.” I then saw that he looked to the side for a second before looking back up. “Okay, that about does it for the preamble. Time to get started!” He announced. “First up is the case summary. Now, let the trial….begin!”

_ So it’s about to begin…  _ I thought to myself.  _ Our lives are at stake, so I have to speak whenever I need to… _

**Non Stop Debate:**

Taka then spoke up. “I assert that the one who was murdered was Miss Sayaka Maizono!”

“…Yeah, we know that part already.” Hiro deadpanned.

“And the murder took place in Makoto's room.” Byakuya continued on.

“In the bathroom…” Hina added.

“So it seems most likely that…” Chihiro spoke up. “The killer must have taken her by surprise while she was in the bathroom.” Then Chihiro started to tear up. “She  **didn't even have a chance to resist** …”

“No that’s wrong!”

_ Wait… Why did I hear glass breaking?  _ I thought to myself.  _ Did the fourth wall break again? _

“Just a second Chihiro. Try to remember how my room looked,” Makoto spoke. “With the way things had been damaged, I think we can definitely assume there was a struggle.”

“A struggle? Between who… and who?” Chihiro asked, looking surprised.

“I think it’s between Sayaka and the killer…” I answered.

“So you're saying that….Sayaka wasn't caught by surprise in the bathroom?” Chihiro clarified for herself.

“She must have been attacked in the main room first, then she ran to the bathroom to try and hide.” Celeste explained, theorizing the events. “The killer followed her in, and that's where they finished the job….”

“That much should have been obvious after taking one look at the scene. It shouldn't even need explaining.” Byakuya remarked rather coldly.

“S-Sorry…” Chihiro said, looking embarrassed.

_ You don’t have to be mean about?! _ I thought angrily.

“….Okay, so what’s next?” Hiro asked everyone.

“Next is the subject of the murder weapon.” Sakura answered.

“Wow,” Hifumi said in amazement. “This sounds like a real trial!”

_ I think I have this evidence…  _ I thought.  _ This is my time to speak up! _

**Non-Stop Debate:**

Sakura was the first to speak. “So what was used to kill her?”

“There was some kind of sharp object thrust into her stomach,” Taka mused. “Without a doubt, that’s the murder weapon!”

“So the killer used  **some random knife** they had on em…” When Mondo said that, I realized what was wrong.

“No, that’s wrong!”

“Um… I don’t think it was any kind of knife…” I spoke up. “I’m pretty sure it was a kitchen knife…”

Mondo looked confused. “A kitchen knife?”

Then everyone started to look at me, waiting for me to make a statement. “Oh, goodness…” I muttered to myself. “W-Well, we discovered that one of the knives in the kitchen was missing… so um…”

“Which means that knife must be the murder weapon.” Sakura spoke up.

“Ohh….yeah, I guess that makes sense. You could sorta see the weapon stickin' out of her stomach,” Mondo spoke up again. “And if you look real close, it even has a lot of the blood on it, I could totally see that being a kitchen knife.”

“Okay, so the murder weapon was a kitchen knife. But where does that get us?” Leon questioned before pointing accusingly at Makoto. “I mean, we all know Makoto killed her, right?”

“That’s r-right,” Toko agreed. “Makoto's room was the s-scene of the crime. What more proof do you n-need?”

“W-Wait, that’s…!”

I was then interrupted by Kyoko. “Let's draw our conclusions after we've presented our evidence.” Kyoko told us. “Otherwise, what's the point of the trial?”

“Well, we can talk all we want, it's not gonna change that conclusion.” Leon remarked as he scratched the back of his head.

“Leon…” I muttered quietly so that no one could hear.

“I don't think that's true at all.” Kyoko said. “I'm sure if we keep at it, something new will reveal itself.”

“You really believe that…?” Hiro asked with a little of disbelief, to which Kyoko stayed silent. 

_ She’s right. There is something we can still reveal here.  _ I thought to myself.  _ Because I know that Makoto’s not the killer! _

**Non-Stop Debate**

“So I guess there's no question that the kitchen knife was the murder weapon.” Leon spoke up. “But where does that get us?”

“M-Makoto must have taken it f-from the kitchen, right?” Toko said accusingly. He did it in s-secret,  **when nobody was in the d-dining hall…** ”

“No, that’s wrong!”

“Wait, hold on Toko!” I spoke up. “I know that he didn’t take the knife from the dining hall.”

“Next you're g-gonna say he’s not the k-killer, right?” Toko argued back. “Go ahead and say it all y-you want….!”

“Because there’s a witness.” I countered back. “Right, Hina?”

“…Huh?” Hina responded.

“Remember that you said that the knife disappeared while you were in the dining hall?” I asked her, remembering her saying that. “And at any point while you were there , did you ever see Makoto come into the dining hall?”

"Ummm….no, I don't think so…." Hina answered not so confidently.

“You don't 'think' so?” Byakuya commented.

“…No, he definitely wasn’t there!” Hina corrected herself, trying to sound more confident.

“So the knife disappeared while Hina was in the dining hall. And I wasn’t there the entire time.” Makoto spoke. “So that means there was no way I could have taken the knife.”

“Okay, th-then what about this….?” Toko suggested to us. “What if the i-idiot swimmer girl and M-Makoto are in on it together, a-and lying to protect each other?”

Hina looked shocked by that. “Idiot swimmer girl?! Oh, and more importantly, why would I get involved in something like that?!”

“Speaking of which, I’d like to ask the bear,” Byakuya said as he turned to Monokuma. “If there is an accomplice, do they also become 'blackened'?”

“So you ask, and so I shall answer!” Monokuma started to answer. “Each murder is allowed to have an accomplice, but only the one who did the killing will get to graduate.”

_ So that would shoot down the theory… _

“So in other words, two people can work together, but one of them has no chance of profiting from it.” Kyoko summarized the comment.

“Then there's no way anyone would work together,” Mondo said. “Right?”

“But….what if they did work together, and they just didn't know about the rule?” Chihiro suggested to us. 

“Yeah…” I looked down. “That could be…”

“Uggh, good grief! Enough already!” Monokuma exclaimed in annoyance. “No, okay?! There are no accomplices in this case!” He then realized what he just said. “…Oops! Did I say that out loud?”

“Anyway, I didn't go to the dining hall, and I didn't take the knife.” Makoto spoke up. “So I'm not the killer!”

“Okay, so then….who did take the knife?” Chihiro asked us.

“Hina seems the most obvious candidate.” Celeste said. “After all, she just said she was in the dining hall.”

_ But isn’t that… way too obvious? _ I thought.  _ Like Makoto’s room? _

“N-No way! I swear it wasn't me!” Hina said in panic.

“Sure,” Hifumi began to speak up. “But can you or anyone else prove that?”

Then Sakura immediately spoke up. “I can.”

“That's right! Sakura was with me the entire time while I was drinking tea…” Hina quickly said.

Then Leon spoke up. “Uhh, I hate to have to ask this, but just to be sure, Sakura's…”

“Me.” Sakura simply said.

“…Right.” Leon just grinned nervously.

“But then….couldn't either of them one of them have grabbed the knife?” Hiro asked us.

“Actually, no.” Hina disagreed. “Because….um….well…”

“Just spit it out already!” Mondo demanded in irritation.

“I stayed in Hina’s room last night.” Sakura answered for Hina.

“I got scared thanks to those creepy videos. I wasn't really thinking, I just asked her to stay over.” Hina explained. “Which means that we have airtight alibis!”

“You s-stayed over….?” Toko asked with a bit of surprise. “Doesn't that v-violate one of the school r-regulations?”

“We're not allowed to sleep anywhere but the dorms, but it doesn't say we have to stay in our assigned rooms,” Chihiro said as she recalled one of the rules. “So… I don't think that's a problem.”

“It IS a problem!” Taka protested rather loudly. “A boy and a girl spending the night together?! It's… it's… unwholesome!”

“But… I’m a girl.” Sakura corrected him.

“Wh-?! You are?!” Taka exclaimed in shock before immediately feeling ashamed. “Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!”

I smiled sheepishly. “Don’t worry, Taka… I made that mistake before…”

“But if it wasn't either of you, then what other possibility is there?” Celeste questioned. “It could have been Nepgear…”

“Wait! Hold on!” I started to protest.

“No because there’s one other possibility other than Nepgear.” Sakura recalled. “Right, Hina?”

“Oh yeah, that’s true!” Hina exclaimed as she also started to recall as well. “One other person did come to the dining hall while we were there.”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Byakuya asked in annoyance.

“Well, because…” Hina answered him while looking down. “They’re not here anymore.”

My eyes widened in surprise.  _ Not here?  _ I thought.  _ Do you mean…? _

“Sayaka.” Hina continued to answer. “She's the one who entered the dining hall. And then later… she wound up dead…”

I was startled by this. “S-Sayaka…?” 

“Then…” Makoto said, looking startled as well. “Sayaka was the one who took the knife…?”

“That's the only possibility.” Sakura answered in thought. “And thinking back on it, she was acting kind of unusual. When she came into the dining hall, she didn't even look at us. She just went straight to the kitchen. As she left, she said she just wanted a drink of water. But most likely…”

“Then the person who took the knife was the victim herself!” Taka stated.

“But why… w-why did she…?” I stammered as I tried to speak as well.

“I'm sure… I'm sure she just took it for self defense…” Makoto said, trying to sound sure.

“So you're saying that the knife she took… was then taken from her, and used to kill her?” Byakuya clarified as he looked directly at him. “In that case, you may not have taken the knife, but you still could have killed her.”

Makoto’s eyes then widened in shock. “What?!” 

“N-No, he d-didn’t…?!” I tried to speak again.

“S-See?! He did do it, a-after all!” Toko quickly accused him.

“No, you’re wrong!” Makoto protested, but most of them weren’t even listening.

“So that's how he would twist the argument and send us all off in the wrong direction?!” Hifumi also accused him. “Hm-hmm… you possess a most terrifying talent…”

_ Why…? Why are they so quick to accuse others?  _ I thought.  _ I don’t have anything to refute these claims… _

_ Are we going to… lose? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s all for now! Happy Late New Years Day! Sorry to cut it short… Either way, Please Review and Stay Safe!


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